Bangladesh is going to sign four instruments, including avoidance of double taxation, with Bahrain to bolster economic and diplomatic relations with the Gulf country.
Foreign Minister Dipu Moni is scheduled to visit Bahrain on September 10 and sign the instruments.
The instruments are avoidance of double taxation, promotion and protection of investment, establishing a joint commission and bilateral consultations between the two foreign ministries.
The absence of agreements on several issues such as avoidance of double taxation, promotion and protection of investment are reasons behind the slow progress to tap in investment from such an important financial hub of the Gulf region.
“It is unfortunate that the agreement signing issue still remains pending for long, as visit of the Bangladeshi foreign minister to the country has been postponed on repeated occasions,” said a foreign ministry official.
The visit of Foreign Minister Dipu Moni to Bahrain was postponed in April and September 2012 and later in May 2013.
“Our main interest is to lure investment from Bahrain as it has huge liquidity with potentials for investment,” the official said.
Manama, the capital of Bahrain, hosts over 410 financial institutions including offshore ones representing assets worth $195bn.
The official, however, said signing of the agreements would not alone guarantee flow of investment but Bangladesh should pursue and try to get hold of low-cost investment from the Gulf country.
A Bahraini company, EMP Energy Fund Holding, has agreed to set up a 225 megawatt power plant in Gazipur and a joint venture has already been formed in this regard, he said.
“Bahraini entrepreneurs don’t have much confidence in our infrastructure and capacity, but we need to convince them it is a lucrative destination for investment,” he added.
The potential areas of Bahraini investment are pharmaceuticals, readymade garments, ICT, ceramics, leather, power generation, tourism, banking and other financial concerns.
