Bida Executive Chairman Chowdhury Ashik Mahmud Bin Harun on Tuesday said that investment and employment are national interests of Bangladesh, above party or political interests.
Ashik was speaking at a discussion organized with representatives of 17 political parties at the Bangladesh Investment Development Authority's head office in Agargaon, Dhaka.
"Bida is continuously working to create a favorable environment for investment in Bangladesh. There are various crises in the field of investment in our country. I expect to have fruitful discussions with you on what we are doing now to recover from these crises and what we will do in the next six to eight months," he said.
At this exchange of views, organized to receive suggestions and recommendations from the country's leading political parties on policy continuity, ongoing reform activities, and recent progress towards ensuring a sustainable investment environment in Bangladesh, Ashik said that based on discussions with more than 200 local investors and stakeholders, Bida has identified five problems for investment in Bangladesh.
These are: quality of government services, policy continuity, industry consultation, eliminating corruption and access to resources, he added.
The political parties were informed about the steps Bida has already taken to address these problems and what steps it plans to take in the long term and were asked for their views.
Bida Head of Business Development Nahian Rahman Rochi gave a presentation on Bida's activities at the meeting.
He briefly discussed the reform plan and progress report, the feedback from the Investment Conference, and the next steps.
The politicians in the meeting urged the Bida authorities to give special importance to domestic investors as well as foreign investors.
They also advised Bida to hold discussions with the relevant ministries and departments to develop training systems, develop infrastructure, remove legal complications, protect the interests of workers, and make environmentally friendly investments to develop skilled workers in the country.
The political parties also called for giving top priority to protecting the country's sovereignty, regional security, and national interests.
They also praised Bida's reform plans and progress and expressed their full support for Bida's activities in creating an investment environment in the country.
Ashik said: "In our next presentation, the reform plan will be presented separately on the issue of local investors."
He added: "We want to assure you that no decision will be taken outside the national interest. Chittagong port is our port for the entire Bangladesh. We want to transform it into a world-class port, but first of all, national interests and regional security must be ensured. No compromise will be made on this issue."
He expressed hope that such positive discussions with political parties will continue on a regular basis.
Representatives from Jamaat-e-Islami, Jatiya Nagorik Committee, Liberal Democratic Party (NDM), Bangladesh Jatiya Party (BJP), Gono Samhati Andolan, Gono Odhikar Parishad, Amar Bangladesh Party, Nagorik Oikko, Bangladesh National Socialist Party, Bangladesh Communist Party, Islami Andolan Bangladesh, Bangladesh Islamic Front, Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal, Khelafat Majlis, Khelafat Andolan, Bangladesh Socialist Party, and Islamic Front Bangladesh participated in the meeting.
