Media report said Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of commerce and Industry (FBCCI) is going to set up a UAE-Bangladesh joint Business Council to tap new business and investment opportunities as Dubai has emerged as a major business hub for middle East, Europe and Africa. It may be launched next month. Dubai is known as the business capital of the region and its outreach is going to expand rapidly down to horn of Africa to dominate business and investment decisions of big businesses having corporate offices in the Emirate.
We would welcome this is a good decision for FBCCI to reach out world’s big business houses making new investments and opening up in the Gulf region and beyond. In our view a joint business council with the UAE should have been established much ago given the growing business link, religious and cultural affinities between Bangladesh and UAE. But surprisingly, our business and investment with the UAE is still very small, the USA and Europe are major buyers of Bangladesh’s apparel.
Even India dominates UAE markets with traditional and untraditional exports but our presence is very poor. It should not have been but it is a fact and it shows that Bangladesh business looks far beyond while it lacks enough business exploration in the next door market. We are exporting apparels to China which is then exporting it to Dubai. This is because our exporters or missions in the Gulf region are not actively exploring it. Bangladesh is producing many brand items for global market but not a show room in the UAE or Gulf region is highlighting best of Bangladesh brands.
We are pleased to see that a joint business council is going to be set up in the UAE soon and we hope more such facilities to be opened in other countries. Agricultural products, light engineering, pharmaceuticals, ICT products, and above all apparels showcasing may be prominently done under the auspicious of the joint business council. India is dominating the Gulf markets with export of halal food and other items including huge manpower export, but we are lagging behind. We hope that the joint business council will look into the setback and chalk out far reaching plan to overcome the gap.
