In a bid to boost the bilateral trade between Bangladesh and France, the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI) has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with MEDEF International (Mouvement des Entreprises de France International).
The signing took place at the France-Bangladesh Business Council Meeting, held on Wednesday, organized by the MEDEF International and Embassy of Bangladesh in France on Wednesday.
Prime Minister, Sheikh Hasina, now visiting France, addressed the event virtually as chief guest while Dr. AK Abdul Momen, Foreign Minister of Bangladesh, Salman F. Rahman, Private Industry and Investment Advisor to the Prime Minister, Khondker M. Talha, Ambassador of Bangladesh to France were also present in the meeting.
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Md. Jashim Uddin, President of FBCCI and Pierre – Jean Malgouyres, Chairman of the France – Bangladesh Business Council, MEDEF International, inked the deal on behalf of their respective organization.
Addressing the meeting, FBCCI President Md. Jashim Uddin stated that Bangladesh attaches great importance to its existing cordial relations with France. The two countries have a long-lasting bilateral relationship.
He mentioned that France is the fifth largest export destination of Bangladesh with rising trend with major export products like woven garments, knitwear, home textile and footwear. But there is full potential of export items like plastic and light engineering products, frozen food, diversified jute & leather goods, ceramic etc. to France from Bangladesh.
FBCCI leader said that the year of 2021 is a grand milestone as Bangladesh is celebrating 3 (three) important occasions: The birth centenary of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, nation’s 50 years of independence and as per Prime Minister’s dream all criteria set by UN has been fulfilled to graduate a developing country.
He said Bangladesh offers best competitive fiscal and non-fiscal incentives for investment. Manufacturers of Bangladesh are adopting greener technologies and modern productions methods aligned with 4IR and challenges of climate change. Among the world’s top 10 green RMG factories, the top 7 are located in Bangladesh.
To ensure inclusive growth, Bangladesh requires huge foreign Direct Investment. Industrial enterprises of France particularly those, which are facing rising costs of their competitiveness, may find Bangladesh as an ideal destination for relocation their industry in Bangladesh, he added.
He hoped that the signing of MoU, would help further promoting cooperation between FBCCI and MEDEF for diversifying trade and expanding investment in an effective manner.
Mostofa Azad Chowdhury Babu, Senior Vice President, FBCCI, M A Momen, Md. Aminul Haque Shamim, Md. Amin Helaly, Vice Presidents of FBCCI, Md. Rejaul Kariem Rejnu, CIP, Mr. Tabarakul Tosaddek Hossain Khan Tito, Priti Chakraborty also joined the meeting, among others.