The entrepreneurs of the D8 (Developing-8) countries have been urged to gear up efforts to raise intra-trade within the bloc to $1.3 trillion.
Addressing the meeting of the D8 entrepreneurs dubbed as 'D-8 Business Forum and Expo', foreign minister Dr AK Abdul Momen made the call on Tuesday.
This target can be achieved through collective and sincere efforts by all the stakeholders, he added.
Intra-trade among D-8 nations has increased to $129 billion from $14 billion in the past 25 years, according to the minister.
"I believe that it can be raised to $1.3 trillion in the next 10 years," he told the meeting, suggesting that this could be done with or without any FTA.
He also urged the entrepreneurs to invest in the country's southern zone that offers huge investment opportunity following the opening of Padma Bridge that links the zone with Dhaka.
Commerce minister Tipu Munshi urged the D-8 businesses to make joint efforts to address the challenges posed by the Russia-Ukraine war.
Salman F Rahman, PM's adviser on private sector and industry affairs, said the present Bangladesh is a new Bangladesh, which offers tremendous opportunities for business and investment.
Despite being a populous country, he noted, Bangladesh made unprecedented progress in all sectors and became self-reliant on food.
State minister for foreign affairs Shahriar Alam said Bangladesh emerged as a role model of development to the world.
In his opening remark, Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI) president Sheikh Fazle Fahim said the expo would help expand businesses among the D-8 member countries.
