Business Desk :
Sri Lanka is keen on attracting investment from Bangladeshi entrepreneurs in its tourism and agriculture sectors, said the country’s High Commissioner to Bangladesh Prof Sudharshan Seneviratne on Sunday.
He made the comment while paying a courtesy call to Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI) President Md Jashim Uddin, said a press release.
Mentioning that his country is offering attractive incentives for foreign investors, including tax holidays, the envoy said at the meeting, “Bangladeshi entrepreneurs can benefit from investing in the large amount of uncultivated land in Sri Lanka.”
Seneviratne also sought Bangladesh’s cooperation in further developing Sri Lanka’s tourism and shipping industries. “The Colombo port now has four harbours, and is equipped with more modern facilities, so I am urging Bangladeshi cargo ships to go through Colombo,” he added.
FBCCI President Md Jashim Uddin said, “A free trade agreement between the two countries would make it easier to increase bilateral trade and investment.”
Urging to increase regional trade as well, Jashim said most of Bangladesh’s trade is with the United States and European Union, but it is more profitable to do business with neighbouring countries.
Referring to the huge volume of inter-trade in NAFTA and ASEAN, Jashim said if SAFTA was implemented, the development of SAARC countries would have been accelerated. He also emphasised the importance of cooperation in the energy sector among the SAARC countries.
During the meeting, FBCCI Director Priti Chakraborty called for joint initiatives on nursing training between Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.
The annual trade volume between Bangladesh and Sri Lanka is about $ 13 crore. Of the figure, Sri Lanka exports goods worth $9.86 crore, while Bangladesh’s exports amount to about $3.7 crore, according to 2019 data from the Export Promotion Bureau (EPB).
FBCCI Vice President Habib Ullah Dawn, Director Shomi Kaiser, Dr Nadia Binte Amin and Secretary General Mohammad Mahfuzul Hoque were also present at the meeting among others.
