United News of Bangladesh

Noting an increasing interest among the Finnish private sector towards Bangladesh, Finland’s Under-Secretary of State (International Trade) Jarno Syrjälä has said there is enormous potential to enhance the collaboration between the companies in the field of green transition. "To name a few, energy, water, and the circular economy are areas where the benefits for both parties seem obvious," he told UNB in an exclusive interview highlighting their focus on sustainability and digitalisation. These are also areas where Finnish businesses can bring state-of-the-art solutions, Syrjälä said, adding that some Finnish companies are among the global leaders in energy and waste-to-energy solutions. "Our companies can also provide efficient technologies in wastewater treatment and water body cleaning," he said. Syrjälä said Finnish companies can provide top-class expertise in smart and sustainable solutions, be it in the fields of energy, ICT, infrastructure, or circular economy and the textile industry. "While the economic collaboration is still on a modest level, the recent business delegation visit proves that there is increasing interest among the Finnish private sector towards Bangladesh," he said. The programme of the delegation was strongly tuned on B2B-contacts and building new partnerships. "Challenges are often around finding the right contacts and information, but I think a lot of these were tackled during our trip to Bangladesh," said the Under-Secretary of State on International Affairs. Asked about steps being taken to enhance economic cooperation and trade between Finland and Bangladesh, the Under-Secretary of State said the recent visit of a Finnish business delegation to Bangladesh including the companies Coolbrook, Elematic, Konecranes, Mirasys, Routa Digital, Wirepas and Wärtsilä was clearly such a concrete step. "I hope the visit facilitated meaningful connections between Bangladeshi and Finnish companies, and that even more Finnish companies will get interested in the Bangladesh market as a result," he said. In digitalisation, the Under-Secretary of State said they recognise Bangladesh’s impressive progress in the last years. Bangladesh, Japan forge stronger SME collaboration at ICOSA roundtable in Tokyo "Smart digital solutions, ICT, AI and cybersecurity are areas where our countries could potentially deepen mutually beneficial cooperation" he said, adding that Finland has globally recognised expertise in ICT, digital governance, and cybersecurity. Digitalisation, ethics and digital security must all go hand in hand. The Under-Secretary of State said Finland has a national cybersecurity center and a whole-of-society approach to cyber resilience, which might also be interesting for Bangladesh. He said they had seven innovative Finnish companies as part of their business delegation-- all of them are already exploring investment opportunities in the Bangladeshi market. "Their focus areas include energy, precast construction solutions, logistics, smart metering, intelligent traffic management, low-emission technologies for heavy industries such as cement, chemicals and steel, as well as digital transformation of businesses," he said. The democratic reform process of Bangladesh bears relevance also with respect to the LDC-graduation, as transition from the EU’s EBA-system to the GSP+ arrangement entails consistent work in the fields of sustainability and human rights, including labour legislation, said the Under-Secretary of State. "With this in mind, we have already seen positive steps by the interim government, and encourage Bangladesh to maintain a strong focus on fulfilling the obligations of international conventions, in line with GSP requirements," he said. Responding to a question, Syrjälä said Finland can offer high-quality solutions in digitalisation and sustainability, for example in renewable energy solutions. "Another example is the textile sector that likely continues to play an important role in Bangladesh’s economy. Because of the huge impact of the textile industry, sustainability is important, and our companies can provide efficient technologies in wastewater treatment, circular textile, and in water body cleaning," he said.

Cleaner and greener production cannot come at free of cost, Faruque Hassan, president of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA), said Sunday. "There is a sharp disconnect between sustainability and pricing mechanisms. Supplying countries like Bangladesh have their challenges and constraints. So we need more strategic collaboration in this regard," he added. Faruque was addressing the programme "Securing Green Transition of the Textile and Readymade Garments Sector in Bangladesh" organised by the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD) in the city. Also read: BGMEA urges LGRD Ministry to repair roads in industrial areas "Environment sits at the top of our agenda at the BGMEA and the sector at large. Bangladesh has the highest number of LEED Green factories in the world, with 157 certified by the USGBC – 47 platinum rated, 96 gold rated," the BGMEA president said. "These green factories are equipped with all the eco-friendly features and emit around 40 percent less carbon than a conventional factory.  However, we need technical assistance with regard to access to technologies, and building capacity of our human resources to embrace the green technologies and processes." Saber Hossain Chowdhury, member of parliament and chairman of the Standing Committee on Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, attended the programme as chief guest. Christine Johansson, deputy head of mission and head of development co-operation at the Embassy of Sweden, also spoke while the programme was moderated by CPD Executive Director Dr Fahmida Khatun. Also read: BGMEA seeks govt support in addressing RMG sector’s challenges Mohammad Hatem, executive president of the Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association, Shams Mahmud, former president of the Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry and managing director of Shasha Denims, Md Fazlul Hoque, managing director of Plummy Fashions and former president of the Bangladesh Employers' Federation, also spoke.