Dhaka Chamber of Commerce & Industry (DCCI) President Rizwan Rahman on Tuesday urged upon for direct port connectivity between Chittagong and Ranong sea ports for boosting existing trade relations between Bangladesh and Thailand.
Mr Rahman made the call at a bilateral meeting with the Ambassador of Thailand in Dhaka Ms Makawadee Sumitmor at the DCCI.
During the meeting, Rizwan Rahman said that the bilateral trade between Bangladesh and Thailand reached $837.06 million in 2019-20, according to a press release.
Export from Bangladesh experienced an upward trend in 2021 as it reached $39 million from $35.46 million in 2020.
In terms of FDI stock in Bangladesh, Thailand is the 15th largest investor in this country but there are huge untapped opportunities for Thai investors especially in the areas of infrastructure, automotive & light engineering, agro and food processing and tourism and health services, said Rahman.
He also requested the Ambassador to relocate Thai labour intensive industries to Bangladesh.
The DCCI president further said bilateral FTA or PTA would facilitate in increasing trade and investment.
Ms Makawadee said that still there is a trade gap between these two friendly countries.
Sumitmor also said that the expansion of India-Myanmar-Thailand trilateral route will boost trade in this region.
She also said that as the Covid cases are relatively coming down, the Thai government is planning to open the country step by step and by the next two months it will be possible to open fully.
DCCI Vice President MonowarHossain was also present during the meeting.