DHAKA: Bangladeshi business leaders are seeking to boost trade and explore new opportunities with Saudi Arabia, as the Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry leads the country’s biggest commerce delegation to the Kingdom on Sunday.
Dhaka and Riyadh have seen a rise in opportunities for cooperation since March, when a delegation led by Saudi Commerce Minister Majid bin Abdullah Al-Qasabi visited the Bangladeshi capital at the invitation of the government and the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry — the country’s apex commerce body.
Saudi Arabia had entered Bangladesh’s energy, seaport and agriculture industries through the signing of several investment agreements at the time, as the two nations’ chambers of commerce established a joint council to navigate bilateral business ties.
A delegation comprising dozens of business leaders from top Bangladeshi companies departed for Riyadh on Sunday for a visit aimed at enhancing commercial ties.
“This is going to be the biggest business delegation from Bangladesh to Saudi Arabia in recent years. Fifty-three businessmen from different leading companies will be part of the delegation,” Sameer Sattar, president of the Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industries, who will be leading the delegation, told Arab News ahead of the trip.
“We want to further increase our exposure to the Middle Eastern market,” Sattar said. “There are huge potentials to boost our bilateral trade as we are working to widen the scope in export diversification.”
The Bangladeshi business delegation includes some of the country’s largest conglomerates, such as the United Group and IFAD Group, which are known for construction and healthcare and automobile and consumer packaged goods, respectively.
“We want to meet the right potential partners and companies in Saudi Arabia, with whom we can build joint ventures,” United Group director Malik Talha Ismail Bari told Arab News.
“We are moving with multi-faceted goals. If we build their confidence, more and more Saudi companies will invest here,” Bari added. “There are options for technological exchanges also, as some of the largest development projects are ongoing in Saudi Arabia.”
The United Group has its eyes on “cutting-edge technologies” used in the Kingdom and hopes that Bangladesh can also adopt some of Saudi Arabia’s smart city technologies, Bari said.
The delegation also includes top players in garment, logistics and pharmaceuticals and will hold meetings in various Saudi cities, including Makkah and Madinah.
Bangladeshi businesses are also seeking to attract more Saudi investment in the energy sector, said IFAD Group Vice Chairman Taskeen Ahmed.
“Saudi Arabia is a rich economy. They are investing a lot in the power and energy sector. One of our main goals is to shape up these investments. How can we fit in those investments in our country?” Ahmed told Arab News. “We will also try to work out the investment potential in the automobile and electric vehicles sector.”
Genex Infosys, an IT service management company based in Dhaka, said it is aiming to attract investments in telecommunications.
“We want to explore new markets through networking with the Saudi businessmen. We will try to bring some joint venture investments in Bangladesh, especially in telecom infrastructure,” Genex Infosys director Enayetul Islam told Arab News.
“Saudi Arabia can be a new market for us,” Islam said. “It has a huge potential to be explored.”
