Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus urged Argentina to explore opportunities for setting up ventures, either with full ownership or as joint ventures, for cotton-related trade and investment with Bangladesh, and to explore potential for energy cooperation.
The Chief Adviser made the call when Argentine Ambassador to Bangladesh, Marcelo Cesa, called on him at his office in the State Guest House Jamuna on Sunday. Professor Yunus told the Ambassador to build on the emotional footballing ties that Bangladesh has with Argentina to increase bilateral cooperation in different fields.
"We have the emotional connection. We can build on that. The ground is ready. We can take it to other fields," Dr. Yunus told him.
During the meeting, Ambassador Cesa said that Argentina and Bangladesh have many unexplored areas of cooperation that hold tremendous potential for both countries. The Ambassador noted that Argentina currently has nearly US$700 million of trade in their favour and that they want to balance this by increasing imports from Bangladesh.
Argentina currently exports soybeans, wheat, corn, and raw cotton, among other items, to Bangladesh, and imports some garments from the country amounting to around US$22 million annually.
"Both countries can work closely on issues relating to cotton, joint investment, pharmaceuticals, textiles, football cooperation (including female), microcredit, trade delegation, LNG, and rice disease," he said.
He also sought Bangladesh's cooperation in introducing microfinance in Argentina and requested consideration for opening a Bangladeshi embassy in Buenos Aires.
"The good feeling that we have, we can make good use of it for the benefit of both countries," he said.
Ambassador Cesa applauded Bangladesh's commitment to preventing enforced disappearances by signing the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearances (ICPPED) on 29th August 2024, which Argentina actively pursued for adoption.
