Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said that by 2030, the affluent population of Bangladesh will stand at 35 million. As a result of this, Bangladesh will become the third largest market globally, leaving behind Germany and the United Kingdom.<\/p>\n
She expressed her expectation while inaugurating two-day Commonwealth Trade and Investment Forum-2023 in Bangabandhu International Conference Center (BICC) as chief guest on Wednesday (September 13).<\/p>\n
The premier sought investment from Commonwealth countries along with others in Bangladesh to draw market of 3 billion people of the region.<\/p>\n
\u201cGeographically, Bangladesh is at the center of a market of 3 billion people, and we have 170 million people of our own whose larger portion is young generation,\u201d Sheikh Hasina said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re looking forward to building long-term, meaningful relations with countries and investors who are willing to contribute to the development of Bangladesh and other Commonwealth countries through this forum,\u201d she said, adding, \u201cI earnestly believe that you will be with us.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bangladesh needs development partners to help reach its goal, noted the premier, saying \u201cwe need more high-quality and sustainable investment to accelerate the economic progress of Bangladesh.\u201d<\/p>\n
She said as a prerequisite for investment promotion, her government prioritized organizational reforms, the formation of the Bangladesh Investment Development Authority (BIDA) and the Bangladesh Economic Zones Authority (BEZA), which are offering attractive facilities for investors, and ensuring post-investment services.<\/p>\n
Sheikh Hasina said that almost all sectors are open for investment in Bangladesh.<\/p>\n
But among those, she said, more investment is encouraged in agricultural goods and food processing, leather and leather goods processing, medical equipment, automobiles and shipbuilding, and ICT.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere are promising investment facilities in these sectors, including the easy process of taking back dividends or benefits to your home country,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n
The prime minister said she always put special emphasis on economic progress through inclusive trade and investment.<\/p>\n
\u201cBangladesh is leading the Commonwealth Business to Business (B2B) Connectivity Cluster as a \u2018Lead Country\u2019 and has been working with the Commonwealth and its associate countries to reach the Intra-Commonwealth trade target of US$ 2 trillion as well,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Sheikh Hasina said she believes a \u201cLegal Reform and Digitization Working Group\u201d can be formed for Commonwealth members to encourage trade and business within.<\/p>\n
\u201cHowever, we must not forget to ensure a balance between trade and its effect on the climate to make sustainable climate financing certain,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n
She said some 70 percent of Bangladesh\u2019s foreign direct investment comes from reinvestment, which is a proof of the excellent investment environment that Bangladesh offers to investors.<\/p>\n
She also said BIDA has started a one-stop fast-track delivery service to facilitate investors with the services of various departments of the government and through this one-stop service, 78 services from 26 departments can be received through one platform.<\/p>\n
Mentioning that the pre-requisite for investment is the development of infrastructure, the prime minister said the government has established 100 economic zones, 109 hi-tech and software technology parks, and IT training and incubation centres across the country with attractive incentive packages to promote foreign investors.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re developing our land, rail, and air connectivity. Almost all highways in the country have been elevated to four or more lanes,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
In this connection, she referred to the Padma Bridge, which has connected 21 south-western districts of Bangladesh directly to Dhaka and other parts of the country.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere will be rail connectivity through the Padma Bridge between Dhaka and Khulna soon,\u201d she continued.<\/p>\n
The head of government said that soon the government will inaugurate the first underwater tunnel not only in Bangladesh but in South Asia in Chattogram under the Karnaphuli River.<\/p>\n
\u201cWork on establishing rail link between Chattogram and tourism town Cox\u2019s Bazar is progressing fast,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n
To ensure adequate energy supply, she said the government has set up a \u201cFloating LNG\u201d terminal, which supplies LNG through a pipeline as well as the Matarbari Deep Sea port is being developed to strengthen its overall logistics capability.<\/p>\n
Sheikh Hasina said they are building the Payra Sea Port and Chattogram Bay Terminal to increase imports and exports.<\/p>\n
The establishment of the state-of-the-art Third Terminal of the Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka and the upgrade of Cox\u2019s Bazar Airport to an international airport are going to be game changers in boosting business, she added.<\/p>\n
The premier said that after winning the election in 2008 and forming the government in 2009, the government has started building the country based on short-, middle-, and long-term programs.<\/p>\n
\u201cA democratic environment, political stability, continuity of government, and, above all, structured development programs have helped in the quick socio-economic development of Bangladesh,\u201d she noted.<\/p>\n
The prime minister said following the materialization of the goal of building a \u201cdigital Bangladesh\u201d the government is working to build a \u201cSmart Bangladesh\u201d, which will be realized by building the pillars of smart government, smart citizens, a smart economy, and a smart society.<\/p>\n
She continued: \u201cOur goal now is to become a knowledge-based and Developed Smart Country by 2041 and a Prosperous Delta by 2100. We are working relentlessly towards that goal through the Perspective Plan, the Five-Year Plan, and the Delta Plan 2100.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said that by 2030, the affluent population of Bangladesh will stand at 35 million. As a result of this, Bangladesh will become the third largest market globally, leaving behind Germany and the United Kingdom. She expressed her expectation while inaugurating two-day Commonwealth Trade and Investment Forum-2023 in Bangabandhu International Conference Center […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":8238,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[15,2],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/jonotarsomoy.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8237"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/jonotarsomoy.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/jonotarsomoy.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jonotarsomoy.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jonotarsomoy.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8237"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/jonotarsomoy.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8237\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8239,"href":"https:\/\/jonotarsomoy.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8237\/revisions\/8239"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jonotarsomoy.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8238"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/jonotarsomoy.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8237"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jonotarsomoy.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8237"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jonotarsomoy.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8237"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}