Sri Lankan envoy discusses business promotion issues with DCCI President

Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DCCI) President Taskeen Ahmed has sought sharing of Sri Lanka’s experience in deep-sea fishing, tourism and shipping industry as well as technical support in this specialized area.

He also urged the Sri Lankan entrepreneurs to invest in various potential sectors in Bangladesh like agriculture, food processing, construction, healthcare, tourism, IT and Fast-Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG).

Taskeen made the call when Sri Lankan High Commissioner in Bangladesh Dharmapala Weerakkody paid a courtesy visit to Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DCCI) here today, a DDCI press release said.

During the meeting, the DCCI President said bilateral trade between Bangladesh and Sri Lanka reached to $134.06 million in FY2023-24 from $93.11 million in 2019-20, reflecting an impressive growth rate of 9.5% per year.

He said a good number of Sri Lankan investors especially from the banking, textile, power, construction and pharmaceutical sector have already invested in Bangladesh worth $428.56 million as FDI.

Taskeen also proposed to expand the negotiations at the government level for the early signing of the proposed Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA) to boost up bilateral trade and investment.

During the meeting, the Sri Lankan High Commissioner said joint investment in the synthetic fabric manufacturing can be very potential for investors of both the countries.

Moreover, he highlighted healthcare, tourism, large hotel, IT, education and pharmaceutical sector as some of the most potential sectors for joint venture investment.

Dharmapala said Bangladesh and Sri Lanka are both SAARC countries and both the nations maintain a good friendly bilateral diplomatic relations for long.

He urged the entrepreneurs of Bangladesh to utilize Sri Lanka’s experience and technical expertise to develop the local tourism sector of Bangladesh.

He also said that Sri Lanka has already signed PTA with a number of countries while negotiations with Bangladesh will begin soon to further expand bilateral trade and investment.

DCCI’s Senior Vice President Razeev H Chowdhury, Vice President Md. Salem Sulaiman and Counsellor (Commercial) of Sri Lankan High Commission Srimali Jayarathne were present. (BSS)