Canada keen to help achieve energy and food security
Wednesday, 7 April 2010
FE Report
Canada can provide extensive help to Bangladesh in achieving its much needed energy and food security in the coming years- Canadian High Commissioner in Bangladesh Robert McDougall said Tuesday.
The North American economic giant with its long expertise in agriculture and strong presence in Bangladesh's energy arena can assist the country in achieving self-sufficiency in these two vital sectors, the High Commissioner said.
"Our country is a stable producer and developer of both energy and agriculture", McDougall said at a programme organised by International Business Forum of Bangladesh (IBFB) in the city.
"Therefore, Canada and its private sector can help Bangladesh in achieving its energy security and food security, which are the most critical challenges for Bangladesh in the coming years", he added.
The Canadian High Commissioner's views came at a time when the two-way trade between Bangladesh and Canada is booming- with the Canadian export to Bangladesh rising from US$ 286.99 million in 2008 to US$ 626.84 million in 2009.
Agricultural products make up much of Canada's export basket to Bangladesh, with wheat, pulses and oil seeds covering more than 90 per cent of the total Canadian shipment into the country last year.
Apart from that, the Canadian companies have also invested extensively over the year's in the country's burgeoning energy sector while having strong presence in telecommunication as well as management and engineering consultancy.
The Canadian High Commissioner however pointed that there were still scopes for investing heavily in major infrastructure projects as there were rooms for large-scale development of infrastructure in the country in the coming years.
"Canada can play a key role in helping Bangladesh building much needed infrastructure in the years ahead- including transportation systems, power generation and gas exploration projects", McDougell said.
"Apart from that, we can share our knowledge and expertise in areas like agricultural science", he said, adding, "There are also scopes for investing in construction, manufacturing and textiles industries.
The Canadian envoy praised Bangladesh's solid foreign exchange reserve, record flow of foreign remittance and the high economic growth rate in recent years, while pointing the country's large domestic market, strong demographic and the emerging middle class as the major potencies.
However, he also identified the "underdeveloped infrastructure to over developed business regulatory structure" as the major constraints for both local and foreign investment.
Earlier, the Canadian envoy also inaugurated the extended office of IBFB at Banani.
"The working sphere of our forum has expanded comprehensively over the years", President of IBFB Mahmudul Islam Choudhury said on the occasion, adding "we have the plan to expand our office in the future beyond Dhaka to all the important economic hubs of the country".
Canada can provide extensive help to Bangladesh in achieving its much needed energy and food security in the coming years- Canadian High Commissioner in Bangladesh Robert McDougall said Tuesday.
The North American economic giant with its long expertise in agriculture and strong presence in Bangladesh's energy arena can assist the country in achieving self-sufficiency in these two vital sectors, the High Commissioner said.
"Our country is a stable producer and developer of both energy and agriculture", McDougall said at a programme organised by International Business Forum of Bangladesh (IBFB) in the city.
"Therefore, Canada and its private sector can help Bangladesh in achieving its energy security and food security, which are the most critical challenges for Bangladesh in the coming years", he added.
The Canadian High Commissioner's views came at a time when the two-way trade between Bangladesh and Canada is booming- with the Canadian export to Bangladesh rising from US$ 286.99 million in 2008 to US$ 626.84 million in 2009.
Agricultural products make up much of Canada's export basket to Bangladesh, with wheat, pulses and oil seeds covering more than 90 per cent of the total Canadian shipment into the country last year.
Apart from that, the Canadian companies have also invested extensively over the year's in the country's burgeoning energy sector while having strong presence in telecommunication as well as management and engineering consultancy.
The Canadian High Commissioner however pointed that there were still scopes for investing heavily in major infrastructure projects as there were rooms for large-scale development of infrastructure in the country in the coming years.
"Canada can play a key role in helping Bangladesh building much needed infrastructure in the years ahead- including transportation systems, power generation and gas exploration projects", McDougell said.
"Apart from that, we can share our knowledge and expertise in areas like agricultural science", he said, adding, "There are also scopes for investing in construction, manufacturing and textiles industries.
The Canadian envoy praised Bangladesh's solid foreign exchange reserve, record flow of foreign remittance and the high economic growth rate in recent years, while pointing the country's large domestic market, strong demographic and the emerging middle class as the major potencies.
However, he also identified the "underdeveloped infrastructure to over developed business regulatory structure" as the major constraints for both local and foreign investment.
Earlier, the Canadian envoy also inaugurated the extended office of IBFB at Banani.
"The working sphere of our forum has expanded comprehensively over the years", President of IBFB Mahmudul Islam Choudhury said on the occasion, adding "we have the plan to expand our office in the future beyond Dhaka to all the important economic hubs of the country".