Our Correspondent
CHATTOGRAM, May 12: The Philippines Ambassador to Bangladesh Vincente Vivencio T Bandillo has expressed his country's interest to strengthen economic cooperation with Bangladesh.
Stressing the need for increasing investment in both public and private sectors for economic development of the two countries, Vincente Bandillo said he will encourage entrepreneurs and business people of his country to come up with investment proposals in Bangladesh which has made lucrative offers for foreign direct and joint venture investment.
The Philippines ambassador said this in separate meetings with the leaders and directors of Chittagong Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCCI) and Chittagong Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CMCCI) in the port city on Saturday.
Bandillo first paid a visit to the CCCI at the World Trade Centre and exchanged views with CCCI president Mahbubul Alam on different aspects of bilateral economic relation between the Philippines and Bangladesh.
Then the Filipino envoy visited the CMCCI at Agrabad and also discussed different aspects of bilateral relation between the two countries with the CMCCI directors, led by its vice president A M Mahbub Chowdhury.
During the meeting, Bandillo said Chattogram is historically recognised as a hub of trade and industry in the globe.
He said the Philippines embassy in Dhaka will also encourage entrepreneurs and business people of his country to come up with investment proposals in the South Asian country as the Bangladesh government has made lucrative offers for foreign direct and joint venture investment.
He said his country is currently importing readymade garment (RMG), medicines and some other goods from Bangladesh.
Mahbubul Alam noted that the two countries enhanced trade and commerce over the last few years but there is ample opportunity to further expand the bilateral trade. Both the countries can play pioneering role in enhancing business in the private sector, he said.
He emphasised on exchanging business delegations between the two countries, direct communication and exchange of information regularly. Terming Chattogram as the future business and economic centre of the world the CCCI president said some major special economic and industrial zones are being developed here and the Philippines entrepreneurs can invest in these zones in the textile, leather and leather goods, jute products, ICT etc.
Alam also said that the Southeast Asian country can import greater volume of RMG, medicines and other items because these products, especially the Bangladesh medicines, have achieved international recognition.
Bangladesh also has engineers and IT (information technology) experts who can serve well in the Philippines, he added.
CCCI directors Anjan Shekhar Das, Md Abdul Mannan Sohail, Tarafdar Md Ruhul Amin and Honorary Consul of the Philippines and president of the Bangladesh-Philippines Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BPCCI) MA Awaal were also present and spoke.
Tarafdar Ruhul Amin praised skills of the Filipino workers in the marine sector and said Dhaka and Manila can work closely in this field.
MA Awaal mentioned that the Philippines is rich in the ICT sector. Both the countries can work for signing a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) which will further expand the bilateral trade, he noted.
While exchanging views with the Filipino ambassador, CMCCI vice president AM Mahbub Chowdhury said the bilateral trade has yet to reach to an expected level.
So the CMCCI and the embassy of the Philippines will work together for expansion of trade in the days to come, he added. CMCCI director MA Awaal and Syed Ahsanul Alam Parvez, were also present, among others.
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