With a view to further deepen economic ties; the US-Bangladesh Economic Growth Meeting is scheduled to be held tomorrow through a virtual platform.
Senior officials at the US embassy in Dhaka on Monday informed this in a discussion at American Centre in the capital.
Prime Minister's Private Industry and Investment Adviser Salman F Rahman will lead the Bangladesh side while Under Secretary of State for Economic Growth, Energy, and the Environment Keith Krach will lead the US side at the virtual meeting.
Officials from the Ministry of Agriculture, Commerce, and Foreign Affairs from both the countries will join the meeting, the first of its kind between the countries.
"We see export potentials from Bangladesh to the US market as the US is a potential destination for Made-in-Bangladesh PPE (Personal Protective Equipment), among many other products," a senior US embassy official said.
Beximco, a Bangladeshi apparel exporter, exported around 6.5 million PPE to the US market in recent time.
Asked, the senior US embassy official said the meeting will not replace the Ticfa.
“This meeting in no way will replace the Trade and Investment Cooperation Forum Agreement (Ticfa) talks. It has a different emphasis, while the Ticfa focuses solely on specific trade and investment issues and their barriers,” he adds.
Talking about the US investment in Bangladesh, the official said they want to invest in agriculture, energy, ICT, Sound Digital Policy and Blue Economy.
Another senior official at the US Embassy said Bangladesh is becoming more prominent in global trade. New company notices Bangladesh for investment, as the country has a large customer base.
In attracting Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), ease of doing business is more important. FDI depends on improved infrastructure and competitive shipping cost, he added.
On the other hand, transparency on decision making to award a business deal is not clear and corruption in getting services is a key barrier to investment, the official said further.
Besides, proper infrastructure and protection of Intellectual Property Rights are very crucial for luring foreign investors, he added.
Bangladesh’s trade with the US was $4.42 billion during the first seven months of 2020, according to latest US Census Bureau data.
US exports to Bangladesh increased 10.15% to $1.08 billion while Bangladesh‘s exports to the US fell 16.94% to $3.34 billion in the same period. The US trade deficit with Bangladesh was $2.27 billion as of July.
