Dhaka, Hanoi to hold biz forum in March
FE Report | Wednesday, 31 January 2018
A joint business forum will be held during the visit of the Vietnamese President in early March aiming to increase bilateral trade and investment in the potential sectors of the two countries.
Vietnamese President Tran Dai Quang will arrive in Dhaka on March 4 on a three-day visit. This was disclosed at a meeting when a Vietnamese delegation, led by its Vice Foreign Minister Dang Dinh Quy, met the leaders of the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI) in the capital on Tuesday.
FBCCI President Shafiul Islam Mohiuddin chaired the meeting where Vietnam ambassador to Dhaka Tran Van Khoa, FBCCI vice presidents Sheikh Fazle Fahim and Md Muntakim Ashraf were present, among others.
The existing relation between Bangladesh and Vietnam will further be strengthened through mutual cooperation during the visit of the Vietnam President, said Dinh Quy.
It is expected that the visit by Vietnam President and the arrangement of 'Bangladesh-Vietnam Business Forum' will open up new windows on developing the economic relation between the two friendly countries, he added.
The visit of the Vietnam President is also expected to facilitate to reduce the trade gap between the two countries through investment and expansion of existing trades while the forum will create the opportunity to find out potential sectors and to develop investment as well as joint venture investment through Business to Business (B2B) discussion, the meeting was informed. The FBCCI president briefed the delegation about the current economic development of the country explaining the development in infrastructure, communication and some other sectors.
Explaining the lucrative investment facilities in Bangladesh, including tax holiday, corporate tax and other incentives, he also invited the Vietnam businesses to invest here in the prospective sectors including the economic zones.
The other sectors, he mentioned, are high value RMG product manufacturing, pharmaceuticals, agriculture machinery, ceramic and light engineering.
Bangladesh's import stood at $412.20 million in the fiscal year 2016-17 while the country exported products worth $66.44 million to Vietnam in the FY17.
The major items Bangladesh exports to Vietnam are agricultural products, jute and leather goods, frozen foods and pharmaceutical products while mineral products, textiles and textile article, machinery and plastic articles are the major import items.