Bangladesh Business Summit is expected to intensify economic growth by ensuring economic empowerment, trade expansion and find new investment opportunities, experts said.
The Bangladesh Business Summit is an international trade and investment promotion event that is envisaged to become Bangladesh’s flagship business event, the experts added.
They expect Bangladesh Business Summit will be an instrument in highlighting Bangladesh's status of progress on the economic and social fronts to the global arena and also successfully identify the pressing needs of Bangladesh's economy through their deliberations and discussions.
The Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI) is going to host the three-day event - ‘Bangladesh Business Summit 2023’ to be held on 11-13 March at the Bangabandhu International Conference Centre (BICC) in the capital as part of the celebration of its 50th founding anniversary.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will inaugurate the summit on Saturday (Today).
Ministers from seven countries, including the United Kingdom (UK), the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), China, Bhutan, the United Arab Emirates, CEOs of 12 multinational companies and more than 200 foreign investors and business leaders from 17 countries of the world are going to participate in the summit.
FBCCI President Md Jashim Uddin said that the summit will highlight the success stories that have set the foundation for Bangladesh's sustainable growth.
“This summit will play an important role in tapping Bangladesh's full economic potential, expanding trade and attracting investments,” he added.
Jashim Uddin said that business representatives from both home and abroad are to pay considerable sums as a registration fee to participate in the event.
“This shows that people are very interested in the business environment of Bangladesh. They want to start their business here and so, we have to seize this opportunity,” he added.
He said, “The country didn't have such capacity of attracting investment in the past. But, such capacity has now been created. Companies like Walmart and Zara have made their presence in Kolkata. Now, the time has come to step into Bangladesh. Apart from creating high export potentials, the local consumer market has also been expanded."
Mentioning that the countrywide 100 special economic zones are now more visible than in the past, he said that there is a need to project such capacity as the government has been prioritizing the facilitation of business to move forward the economy.
“Some 750 people have already registered for the summit. Apart from this, a number of people will attend the summit without registration,” he added.
Jashim Uddin mentioned that the summit will showcase dynamic business investment opportunities and improvements to the local business climate while also giving insights in investment priorities of global investors to improve policy-making.
The summit will also facilitate the exchange of success stories and good practices among investors, he added.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Commerce Ministry and the Bangladesh Investment Development Authority (BIDA) are partnering with the FBCCI for the summit.
There will be three plenary sessions on strategic issues, 13 parallel sessions, business-to-business meets, networking sessions, open house reception and guided tours for international delegates.
The summit will feature the "CNN Experience", which will consist of a series of thought-leadership sessions focusing on the country's business climate, investment opportunities, and future sustainable impetus.