TEHRAN (Iran News) – Bangladesh Ambassador to Tehran A.F.M. Gousal Azam Sarker in meeting with the head and some officials of Arak Chamber of Commerce reviewed opportunities for join cooperation and investment between Iran and Bangladesh and called for boosting the economic relations.
In the meeting which was held upon the invitation of Head of Arak Chamber of Commerce, the chamber presented capabilities and capacities of Markazi Province for more cooperation between the province and Bangladesh.
Bangladesh Ambassador Mr. Azam Sarker said that in his view, growth and development has a special and valuable place and pulling all energy and capability of the private sector is very crucial for achieving progress.
He added that to this end, Bangladesh government has tried to hand over the trade and investment to the private sector to witness successes in the economic activities, and therefore, efforts have been considerably made and many privatizations have been done in order to make Bangladesh economy shift from a state-run economy to a private-sector one.
He stipulated that fortunately despite high population in the country, Bangladesh government is able to supply required basic goods for the public, and even it also exports in some sectors.
Azam Sarker went on to say that in the past 12 years, Bangladesh economy has taken a long stride in a way that its GDP has grown from 6% to 8%, adding that the government has also taken policies to in order that investors and traders can trade with Iran and it will help Bangladesh to enter its third phase of economic growth.
He also expressed interests of Bangladesh for expansion of ties with Iran due to their historic and cultural ties, adding that Bangladesh currently requires raw material for advancing its economic goals and it seems Markazi Province of Iran has enough capacity to meet the needs of Bangladesh to the raw materials. He noted since both countries enjoy having good political ties, this potential exits that their bilateral trade relation picks up.
Azam Sarker reiterated that joint investment is the missing link for trade between Iran and Bangladesh, adding that with this action, transfer of technology and rise in the trade exchange will be the ground for some changes that it will lead to golden opportunities for both countries and even other countries.
He also pointed to the capabilities of Bangladesh in the field of pharmaceutical productions, ceramic, building small and big ship (exporting them to countries like Germany, Denmark and the Netherlands) and notified that Bangladesh ranks second in fiber production in the machine-manufacturing industry and leather industries, adding that the country has good investment in the apparel industries.
The ambassador noted that Bangladesh is importer in the fields of LPG, bitumen, steel and aluminum and it provides its needs from Iran and other countries. He added that the country has some shortages in producing some food products like onion and garlic and Iran can provide Bangladesh with food stuff and both countries can exchange bilateral trade of products like banana, coconut, fruit juice and fruits.
Azam Sarker said both countries will benefit from the joint investment project. He said different tax and customs exemptions for investments are of the major advantages of the investment, and production in Bangladesh and traders and businessmen in Bangladesh can trade with international currencies.
Then Head of Arak Chamber of Commerce Mr. Naser Beiki, for his part, hailed the Bangladesh government for its good management in different grounds and said since Markazi Province is an industrial province, the condition is good for bilateral ties with Bangladesh.
Meanwhile the secretary of the chamber Mr. Joodaki said Iran’s exports to Bangladesh were around $80m in 2019 but due to the coronavirus pandemic this figure declined last year. He said exchange of trade delegations between the two countries, Iran and Bangladesh can boost their bilateral trade.
