Saudi-Bangladesh Business Summit kicks off tomorrow 

The first ever Saudi-Bangladesh Business Summit will open in the city tomorrow (Tuesday) to find new investment and business opportunities between the two countries and bring the two nations closer to global business landscape.

Saudi Arabia-Bangladesh Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SABCCI) is organizing the three-day event as a joint initiative to look for new business and investment, particularly in Bangladesh economy.

President of SABCCI, Ashraful Haque Chowdhury said a 20-member high-level Saudi business delegation is arriving Bangladesh to take part in the summit.
Sheikh Omar Abdul Hafiz Amir Baksh, owner of Umran Group is leading the delegation which includes business leaders, academicians, health sector experts and people from various professions.

Uzma Chowdhury, Director of Saudi Arabia-Bangladesh Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SABCCI) and Director of Pran Agro Limited at a press conference at City Bank Center in Gulshan on Sunday details the preparation of the summit.

Country's leading corporate houses will take part in the three-day discussion to indentify areas of Saudi investment and participation in the country's growing business and service sectors.

Ashraful Haque Chowdhury said the delegation will arrive in Dhaka on Monday afternoon and the summit will be held at Sheraton Hotel in Banani on Tuesday.

Commerce Adviser SK Bashir Uddin is expected to attend as the chief guest, while Bangladesh Bank Governor Ahsan H Mansur will be present as the special guest.

BNP Standing Committee member Amir Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury will also attend the event.

That night, an inaugural ceremony will be organized. BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir will be present. There will be 22 stalls at the summit including a staff Export Promotion Bureau (EPB).

SABCCI summit will work to solve business and investment problems of the two countries. Problems and possibilities will be discussed at the summit. Besides, the business delegation will explore possibilities of investment in Bangladesh.

Foreign Secretary will host a banquet at the end of the event in honor of the Saudi delegation at Padma guest house at noon on October 8. A press conference on achievements of the three-day event will be held at Sonargaon Hotel.

In response to a question, Ashraful Haque Chowdhury said, "Even after so many years of independence, no business organization has been formed as a joint initiative of the two countries.

We do not know why it has not happened. If we want to take the wheels of the country's economy forward, we will have to find new markets, bring Saudi investments."

Bangladeshi entrepreneurs are exporting ready-made garments, workers, hats, and packaged foods to Saudi Arabia. We are importing products including crude oil and dates from Saudi Arabia.

He said, "Nobody exports to Saudi Arabia except 10-15 companies including Pran-Akij. About 3 million expatriate Bangladeshis live there. There is a big market for business. But we are so dependent on Europe and America that we cannot think about any other country.

But we are seeing so many problems in the trade war. There may be more in the future." If we develop Saudi Arabia as an alternative market, our businessmen will benefit. Bangladesh economy will prosper, he said.