PM attends virtual meeting with US-Bangladesh Business Council

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina announced that Bangladesh will offer a special economic zone exclusively for American businesses focusing on the importance for Bangladesh to have robust trade and investment relationship with the United States.

She made the remarks while attending a virtual business roundtable meeting with over 30 senior executives from US and Bangladesh business communities.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina attended the meeting hosted by the US Chamber of Commerce’s US-Bangladesh Business Council on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly meetings.

She said, “We believe that our trade relations can be further strengthened, and we will be obliged to have duty-free access and other trade privileges in the US market. We are also ready to commence Free Trade Agreement (FTA) negotiations with the United States at an appropriate time. Bangladesh will also graduate out of LDC status in 2026, and the United States’ support to enhance its global competitiveness and expand its export base will be appreciated.”

“I am hopeful that the existing two-way trade figure of nine billion US dollars between the two countries will continue to grow. The US-Bangladesh Business Council can play a catalytic role in this regard,” she added.

Jay R. Pryor, Vice President of Business Development at Chevron and Board Chair opened the event highlighting, “Improvements in human development, quality of life, life expectancy, infant mortality, literacy and more are all going at a steady pace. In short, Bangladesh is a vibrant and diversified economy with a growth goal of becoming a middle-income country. Like any modern growing economy, a supply of reliable, affordable, ever-cleaner energy will play an instrumental role in realizing Bangladesh’s goals. Driving economic opportunity for all is an important step to ensure that development is sustainable and inclusive. Social progress starting with the empowerment of women has also fueled the economic charge of Bangladesh. There are undoubtedly exciting times ahead in Bangladesh. Bangladesh is a true Asian success story.” 

US-Bangladesh Business President and Senior Vice President for the US Chamber of Commerce President Nisha Biswal stated that the US-Bangladesh strategic relationship is a priority for both countries and the growing trade and investment flows have created an opportunity to deepen the economic partnership between the two countries.

The Council and our Board reflect a diversity of industries and businesses ranging from energy and finance to digital economy and healthcare and the retail and RMG sectors. We see growth across all segments of the economy as we create a stronger commercial and trade dialogue with the government, he added.

The event was presided over by Jay R. Pryor, Vice President of Business Development at Chevron and the Council’s Chair of Board of Directors, and Nisha Biswal, President, US-Bangladesh Business Council and Senior Vice President - South Asia, International Strategy and Global Initiatives at the US Chamber of Commerce.

ARR