With a view to further expanding bilateral trade and investment, Dubai Chambers in the UAE organized “Dubai-Bangladesh Business Briefing” at the Dubai Chambers’ Auditorium today.
Members of the visiting business delegation of DCCI participated in the meeting.
Meanwhile, DCCI President Taskeen Ahmed is currently leading a 29-member business delegation to the UAE, said a Commerce Ministry press release here.
Speaking on the occasion, Dhaka Chamber President Taskeen Ahmed said Bangladeshi nationals constitute one of the largest expatriate communities in the UAE, accounting for 17% of Bangladesh’s total overseas employment, making the UAE as the second-largest destination after Saudi Arabia.
He said Bangladesh’s competitive investment framework, fiscal and non-fiscal incentives, favourable regulatory environment for foreign investors, 100% foreign ownership, bonded warehouse facilities, strong intellectual property protection make Bangladesh an attractive destination for UAE investment.
“Also there is an opportunity for UAE entrepreneurs to invest in the logistics service sector in the proposed economic zones, especially to improve the overall infrastructure of business and investment in Bangladesh,” he added.
Taskeen also urged the entrepreneurs of Dubai to set up skills development training centres in Bangladesh and invest in the renewable energy, FINTECH, financial sector, healthcare, information and technology and tourism sector.
In his welcome speech, Mohammed Lootah, President and CEO of Dubai Chambers, expressed their commitment to strengthen cooperation between the business communities in Dubai and Bangladesh to foster partnerships and contribute to achieving shared developmental goals.
He also assured of extending comprehensive support to Bangladeshi businesses and investors to help them grow their operations in Dubai.
Lootah later said that the number of Bangladeshi companies registered as active member of Dubai Chamber of Commerce reached 8,686 by the end of 2024, reflecting Dubai’s growing attractiveness among Bangladeshi investors.
He also requested the Bangladeshi companies to establish their local offices in the UAE that would play an important role in helping Bangladeshi exporters to grab the Middle Eastern as well as African market.
He urged Bangladeshi IT companies to invest in the UAE. He opined that establishing an effective data center in Bangladesh is crucial for the development of the information technology sector.
During the event, Rizwan Rahman, former president of Dhaka Chamber, presented a power-point presentation on trade and investment potentials of Bangladesh.
He also emphasized on signing of a free trade agreement (FTA) between Bangladesh and the UAE to expand the scope of trade and investment further.
On the other hand, Omar Khan, Head of Research and Data at Dubai Chambers, also presented another paper on future trade relations between Dubai and Bangladesh.
He said that the business to business relations between the private sector representatives of the two countries is very important for the expansion of bilateral trade.
Omar said there is a lot of potential for Bangladeshi investors to invest in the processed food, data centers, healthcare, logistics, fashion design and e-commerce sector.
Meanwhile, a MoU was signed between DCCI and Dubai Chambers. Dhaka Chamber President Taskeen Ahmed and Dubai Chambers President and CEO Mohammad Ali Rashed Lootah signed the MoU on behalf of their respective organizations.
The agreement was signed to enhance bilateral cooperation and promote mutual trade and investment diversification.
Under this agreement, importance will be given on enhancing mutual cooperation between the businessmen of both organizations, organizing B2B matchmaking, encouraging joint venture investment, organizing trade meetings, fairs, exhibitions, and exchanging trade delegations.
At the end of the business discussion, a B2B match-making session was held with the representatives of 50 Dubai Chambers’ member companies and members of the business delegation of DCCI, where the entrepreneurs of the two countries participated in a detailed discussion on the trade and investment possibilities.
DCCI Senior Vice-President Razeev H Chowdhury, Vice President Md. Salem Sulaiman and delegation members were also present on the occasion.
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