State Minister for Foreign Affairs Shama Obaed Islam, MP exchanged views with the Bangladesh business people and professionals on 10 August 2026. The event was organized by Bangladesh Chamber of Singapore, which was held in a hall of a local hotel at 11:00 am. The Bangladesh business community people, professionals and migrant workers attended the event.
The State Minister listened from the Bangladeshis living in Singapore. Business people and entrepreneurs from the Chamber briefed their respective ongoing businesses, opportunities and problems that they had been going through. The members of chamber also focused on expanding trade, commerce and investment opportunities, promoting skilled and unskilled migration of manpower and further strengthening Bangladesh-Singapore economic relations.
The President of the Bangladesh Business Chamber of Singapore briefed the State Minister on the activities of the organisation. He highlighted the Chamber’s role in promoting business relations and facilitating exchanges and visits between Bangladesh and Singapore.
The State Minister for Foreign Affairs emphasised the importance of economic diplomacy in expanding trade and attracting investment. She said that Singapore, as a major global business hub, had significant potential to invest in Bangladesh and thus contribute to employment generation.
She said that the government had been working to create a more investment-friendly environment in Bangladesh. She also informed the participants that the Cabinet had recently approved a bill related to investment in Bangladesh. The State Minister informed that a separate wing in Foreign Ministry had been created for coordination with relevant stakeholders both in the government and private sectors to resolve issues such as manpower migration, promoting trade, commerce, and investment.
She also mentioned that initiatives were taken for renewable energy, artificial intelligence, technology, pharmaceuticals, ICT, education and Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET).
She mentioned that Bangladesh has a trade deficit with Singapore and hence, stressed the need to increase export diversification from Bangladesh to Singapore. She also emphasised the importance of research, innovation, and appropriate policy support for developing new export sectors. Referring to the jute sector, she said that our jute and jute-based products could be a lucrative commodity to trade in the country like Singapore.
The State Minister also urged to establish a joint Bangladesh-Singapore Chamber comprising of both the business people, entrepreneurs and investors of Bangladesh and Singapore. She opined that the joint chamber could play a crucial role in promoting trade, investment and further expanding business and investment cooperation between the two countries.
Members of the business community shared a number of proposals. They identified data centres as a potential area for investment in Bangladesh. They also highlighted the potential benefits of a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between Bangladesh and Singapore. The business representatives said that Bangladeshi companies in the steel, shipbuilding, and ship recycling sectors could benefit from duty-free access to the Singapore market under FTA. They proposed organising roadshows to showcase Bangladeshi products in Singapore. They also suggested establishing a one-stop service for Singaporean investors, simplifying the process of opening bank accounts, organising business workshops and arranging trade fairs.
After the interaction with the chamber members, representatives from a wide range of professions also attended the session. The professions represented included doctors, engineers, shipbuilding workers, service sector employees, logistics and transport workers, construction workers, and IT professionals. The participants identified elderly caregivers as a promising sector for future employment opportunities for Bangladeshi workers in Singapore. They suggested that a bilateral agreement could help develop cooperation in this area.
They also proposed that some treatment could be arranged in Bangladesh in a very low cost compared to Singapore and cooperation between hospitals in Bangladesh and Singapore under a government-to-government (G2G) framework may be initiated. The participants raised concerns about the high costs faced by aspiring migrant workers. They viewed that exploitation by some recruiting agencies was responsible for the high migration costs in Singapore.
They also suggested that former migrant workers could be engaged as trainers at training centres in Bangladesh. They also proposed affordable training courses for work permit holders in Singapore. At this point, Hon’ble State Minister assured that the Government has been sincerely working to bring the recruitment process under a transparent system so that exploitation and high costs would be reduced.
The participants called for diversification of Bangladesh’s overseas employment market. They suggested reducing dependence on traditional sectors such as construction, logistics, etc. and exploring areas such as IT, data analysis, cybersecurity and artificial intelligence. They informed that Singapore’s service sectors offer significant opportunities for skilled foreign professionals.
Responding to the proposals, the State Minister for Foreign Affairs Shama Obaed Islam, MP said that the government is reviewing all opportunities in the TVET sector. She said that the government is continuing discussions with the relevant ministries and stakeholders to expand opportunities for Bangladeshi workers. The two interaction sessions provided an important platform for direct engagement with the business community and Bangladeshi professionals including migrant workers in Singapore. The discussions focused on expanding investment and trade, increasing skilled employment opportunities, improving migration governance, and further strengthening the economic partnership between Bangladesh and Singapore.
In closing remarks, the State Minister Shama Obaed Islam, MP reaffirmed that Bangladesh is open for investment from all over the globe. She encouraged Bangladeshi businessmen to explore investment opportunities in Bangladesh. Following discussions of the two sessions, the State Minister requested the participants to give in writing formally, based on which appropriate measures would be taken involving the relevant Ministries and organizations of the government to resolve challenges. She assured that the Government is committed to working for the betterment of expatriate Bangladeshis living all over the world including Singapore.