The foreign minister called upon the businessmen of Thailand to invest in Bangladesh. Hasan Mahmud.
During Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s official visit to Thailand, she made this call at a business meeting organized by the Bangladesh Embassy in Thailand at a local hotel in Bangkok on Friday evening.
Prominent Thai businessmen and Finance Minister Abul Hasan Mahmud Ali, Interior Minister Asaduzzaman Khan, State Minister for Commerce Ahsanul Islam Titu, Prime Minister’s Private Industry and Investment Advisor Mr. Salman Fazlur Rahman, Foreign Secretary Masud Bin Momen, Bangladesh Ambassador to Thailand AbdulHi, Ambassador of Thailand to Bangladesh Makawadi Sumitmore was present at the event.In the meeting, Foreign Minister Hasan Mahmud emphasized the potential of trade and investment between Bangladesh and Thailand. He highlighted Bangladesh’s remarkable progress in all indicators of socio-economic development in the last 15 years and Bangladesh’s successful graduation from the least developed country-LDC group under the visionary leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
The foreign minister also highlighted the significance of Thailand as an important trade partner for Bangladesh in the ASEAN region. He mentioned the signing of Letter of Intent (LOI) to initiate Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between the two countries and emphasized the importance of early initiation of FTA to increase bilateral trade and balance trade deficit.
Prime Minister’s Advisor on Private Industry and Investment Salman Fazlur Rahman detailed the incentives provided by the Bangladesh government for foreign investors. He opined that the Bangladesh government could benefit from technology transfer from the Thai government and invited Thai investment in Bangladesh’s tourism sector.
The Minister of State for Commerce mentioned the Bangladesh Government’s recently enacted Offshore Banking Act 2024 and assured the private sector of Bangladesh and Thailand of necessary facilities from the government.
Charles Frederick, senior executive vice president of prominent Thai global sugar engineering company Sutec Limited, suggested the Bangladesh government to revive one or two existing sugar mills through the private sector. The BIDA representative highlighted the incentives for investment in agribusiness, digital economy, logistics and light manufacturing sectors in Bangladesh.