Bangladesh, Malaysia accelerate cooperation for development

Public and private sector leaders of Bangladesh and Malaysia underscored to accelerate cooperation between the two nations to leverage the socioeconomic complementarities that exist.

They came up with these remarks during a virtual event titled "Showcase Bangladesh 2021: Bangladesh-Malaysia Investment Summit" jointly organised by Standard Chartered and Bangladesh Investment Development Authority (Bida).

The virtual forum showcased the partnership potential between the two countries and highlighted the emerging strategic opportunities in a shifting global landscape, said a media statement issued on Wednesday. 

Delegates representing public and private sectors, policymakers, investors, bankers and the diplomatic communities of both nations attended the event.

Bangladesh's Commerce Minister Tipu Munshi attended the event as the chief guest while Salman Fazlur Rahman, private sector industry and investment adviser to the Prime Minister, was present as guest of honour. 

Md Sirazul Islam, executive chairman of Bida delivered the keynote speech.

Md Golam Sarwar, Bangladeshi high commissioner to Malaysia; Haznah Md Hashim, Malaysian high commissioner to Bangladesh; Datuk Md Nor bin Ali, chief investment officer of Edra Energy; Mahtab Uddin Ahmed, chief executive officer of Robi Axiata; Rupali Chowdhury, president of foreign investors chamber of commerce and industry were present at the event.

Among others, Naser Ezaz Bijoy, chief executive officer Bangladesh and Abrar A Anwar, chief executive officer Malaysia, represented the Standard Chartered Bank.

Commerce Minister Tipu Munshi said, "Relationships between Malaysia and Bangladesh are characterised by a number of complementarities. It is time to take advantage of these complementarities and begin our respective journeys to become high income economies."

"I believe this summit will help cement this bilateral relationship to greater heights," he added.

Salman Fazlur Rahman said, "Malaysia and Bangladesh have historically had extremely good relationships and I believe any kind of cooperation between the two countries is a win-win situation for both countries."

"As we ascend to the next level, we realise the need to pick up the pace. An important part of this process is digitalisation. There are also a huge amount of legal reforms taking place which will aid the ease of business and help further improve bilateral relations," he continued.

Naser Ezaz Bijoy, chief executive officer, Standard Chartered Bangladesh said, "International investors have an excellent track record of operating in Bangladesh and are recognised as the leading taxpayers in sectors such as Telco, Insurance, Financial Sector, and FMCG."

"These profitable opportunities will only grow as the country continues its remarkable development trajectory. As both Bangladesh and Malaysia progress towards a common goal of becoming high-income countries, there are a host of shared opportunities that are yet to be explored," he added. 

"The aim of this summit is to accelerate the joint efforts to identify complementarities in various sectors, and to establish continuous engagement between relevant stakeholders to leverage these opportunities," he continued.
   
Bida Executive Chairman Mohammad Sirazul Islam said "The relationship between our two nations is based on the spirit of long-term friendship. Malaysia has been one of the first to recognise our country from the beginning." 

He also said, "Bangladesh has bilateral and international treaties which we have signed with Malaysia and both governments are actively considering FTAs which will definitely boost bilateral trade between the nations. We look forward to facilitating the entry and growth of more Malaysian businesses in Bangladesh."