The UAE and Bangladesh will launch a Joint Business Council to help Bangladesh capitalise on business and investment potential with the UAE’s trade partners in Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
The Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI) hopes to establish the council by the end of March.
The FBCCI’s key focus is to explore and capture new markets for Bangladesh as the country transitions from a ‘least-developed country’ to a ‘developing country’.
Jashim Uddin, president of FCCBI, said Dubai’s trade with the rest of the region and Europe will help Bangladesh access these markets, Bangladeshi daily newspaper The Daily Star reported.
“Dubai is now a hub of business communication between the Middle East and Africa. Besides, Europe is becoming reliant on Dubai. We hope this council will help us expand trade in these regions,” Mr Uddin said.
Bangladesh, whose economy is Asia’s largest and the world’s 40th, recorded a 5.2 per cent growth in the fiscal year ending June 30, even amid the pandemic’s effect on economies.
In a seminar held at Expo 2020 in January, Mohammed Abu Zafar, Bangladeshi ambassador to the UAE, said bilateral trades between the two nations had risen 15 per cent within the past year, amounting to $1.2 billion.
Mr Zafar highlighted the leadership of the two countries as the driving force behind the deeply rooted and increasingly developed relationship, reported Emirates news agency, Wakalat Anba’a al Emarat.
Abdullah Mohamed Al Mazrouei, chairman of the Federation of UAE Chambers of Commerce and Industry, and Sheikh Fazle Fahim, chairman of FBCCI, are expected to co-chair the council.
The council’s inauguration will be attended by Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina during her visit to Dubai later this month.
