The Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DCCI) has called upon the Egyptian authorities to increase imports from Bangladesh and investment collaboration with Bangladeshi entrepreneurs.
DCCI President Rizwan Rahman made the call when Ambassador of the Arab Republic of Egypt Haytham Ghobhashy called on him in Dhaka on Wednesday.
“Egypt can utilise Bangladesh in producing the same or similar products to become price competitive in Africa under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA),” Mr Rahman told the envoy.
Referring to Bangladesh’s global ranking of having the second-largest pool of online workers, he added that Egypt can utilise this expertise for mutual benefits.
Saying that Egypt is more focused on doing business with and making investment in the South Asian nations, Ambassador Haytham Ghobhashy sought Bangladesh’s cooperation in boosting trade with the region.
The DCCI leader requested the ambassador to take steps to import cotton, knitwear, woven garments, footwear, pharmaceuticals and ceramic products from Bangladesh.
The country imported goods worth US$61.9 million from Egypt as against exports valued US$28.36 million in 2019-20 whereas Bangladesh earning from export of jute alone was US$31.33 million the year before.
The DCCI President proposed setting up of an `Egypt Help Desk’ at the leading chamber to facilitate entrepreneurs from both the countries with required information relating to trade and investment.
The ambassador said as Bangladesh needs to improve its infrastructures to raise standard of living, the Egyptian entrepreneurs can play a vital role in the development of this sector.
“Construction and infrastructure sector of Bangladesh are full of potential for foreign investors where governments and private sector of two countries can explore the possibility of collaboration,” Mr Ghobhashy pointed out.
He urged the Bangladesh private sector to invest in Egypt to take advantage of the potential in terms of exports.
DCCI Senior Vice President NKA Mobin, Deputy Head of Mission of Egypt Embassy Mariam M Ragaei and DCCI Vice President Monowar Hossain were present during the meeting.
