Many Finnish companies are interested in establishing bilateral trade relationship with Bangladesh in the fields of circular economy, energy, forest, logistic, and digital services industry, said Juho Romakkaniemi, president and chief executive officer of Finland Chamber of Commerce (FCC).
But first, both the countries needed to agree on some principal ideas and agendas in their upcoming engagements, he said at a cloud conference organised by the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI).
The conference acted as a precursor before the FBCCI's "Bilateral Business Event" on December 9, said a statement of the FBCCI.
“Although Bangladeshi products enjoy duty-free quota-free (DFQF) facility in Finland under the EU GSP (EBA) policy, our bilateral trade with Finland remains far below potential,” said FBCCI President Sheikh Fazle Fahim.
The current bilateral trade trend between the two nations shows a significant decline in fiscal 2019-20: down 47.4 per cent year-on-year to $165.6 million.
Fahim called for identifying bilateral value chain initiatives exploring Finland’s cutting-edge technology support in ICT, startup ecosystem, skills, ADR, applied research, among others.
Bangladesh mostly exports garment and footwear to Finland.
According to Finland Abroad, a website provided by the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland, Finnish engineering has left a strong imprint on Bangladesh’s energy sector, as more than a quarter of the country’s energy production capacity was built by Wärtsilä.
Besides, Cargotec and Konecranes have a strong position in marine and industrial lifting equipment, and a few Finnish SMEs have also successfully entered Bangladesh.
Timo Vuori, senior executive vice president at the FCC, and Jenni Isola, secretary-general of Finland-ASEAN Business Association, also spoke during the cloud conference.
