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Thrust on tapping bilateral trade, economic opportunities

Bangladesh-Rwanda Business Forum


FE REPORT | Wednesday, 30 October 2019



Bangladesh and Rwanda may tap into huge opportunities through enhancing their bilateral trade, economic and cultural relations, speakers at a programme have said.
Bangladeshi entrepreneurs can expand their business in the African country through investment in different sectors like financial service, construction material, apparel, pharmaceuticals and jute packaging, they added.
They made the observations at the first ever Bangladesh-Rwanda Business Forum, organised by the PHP Family at a city hotel on Monday evening.
Rwandan High Commissioner to India Ernest Rwamucyo and Honorary Consul General of Rwanda to Bangladesh and Managing Director of PHP Family Mohammed Iqbal Hossain, business leaders and senior journalists attended the function, among others.
Speaking on the occasion Mohammed Iqbal Hossain said both the countries could work for the future development in different areas like trade, tourism, culture and many more.
The High Commissioner Ernest Rwamucyo invited Bangladeshi businesses to explore Rwanda, which is drawing good attention from other countries.
He hailed the organisers for arranging the first ever Bangladesh-Rwanda business forum.
"The relation between Bangladesh and Rwanda is strong and continues to be stronger," he said.
The envoy said people to people connection and business interests between the two countries are on the rise in recent times.
He also lauded the Bangladesh's role for its peacekeeping mission in Rwanda during the genocide taken place there in 1994.
Responding to a query, the high commissioner said Rwanda ranks second in African continent and 38th position among all the nations in the 'ease of doing business index' released by the World Bank.
"It takes only one day to start a business in Rwanda thanks to the recent policy reformation," he said, adding that the country offers wide range of tax benefits for the foreign investors.
Businesses from countries like USA, UK, Germany and India have already made investment there.
He said that there are huge opportunities for Bangladeshi businesses in Rwanda's booming construction sector, financial services, jute packaging and many others.
"A Bangladeshi pharmaceutical company has already made investment in Kigali Special Economic Zone," he informed.
There is easy flight connectivity between Dhaka and its counterpart Kigali, the capital city of Rwanda, the envoy said, adding that Bangladeshis could enjoy on arrival visa facility in Rwanda and work permit.
At the onset of the forum, the organisers screened an hour-long video documentary titled 'Rwanda: The Royal Tour' which portrayed various tourism attractions and culture of Rwanda.
Located in central Africa, Rwanda has a population of around 1.2 million.

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