Indian High Commissioner to Bangladesh Riva Ganguly Das on Tuesday urged Indian business leaders to explore opportunities for collaboration and joint ventures (JVs) with Bangladesh, including exports to third countries. She mentioned about excellent manufacturing environment, vibrant demography and favourable investment atmosphere in Bangladesh. The High Commissioner made the remarks while addressing a webinar titled “India-Bangladesh Partnership– Economic revival in a post-Covid-19 world”. The High Commission of India (HCI), Dhaka in collaboration with India- Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce & Industry (IBCCI) jointly organized the webinar. More than 100 industry leaders joined the webinar. The High Commissioner expressed the hope that the excellent state of Bangladesh-India bilateral relations and the recent connectivity initiatives taken by both the countries in railways and inland waterways will help reduce the cost of trade. With their resilient economies and robust business environment, she said the two countries will not only be able to deal with the present challenges but also make the use of new opportunities. Riva Ganguly highlighted the “Atmanirbhar Bharat” scheme rolled out under the leadership of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. She said Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan is based on five pillars — Economy, Infrastructure, Technology-driven system, Vibrant demography, and Demand. A stimulus package of 21 trillion rupees under this scheme will accelerate infrastructure development, support rural economy and cottage industries, boost micro, small and medium enterprises, improve opportunities for foreign traders and investors and accelerate agriculture mechanisation in India, according to the Indian High Commission in Dhaka. Atmanirbhar Bharat or self-reliance will allow India to identify and promote industries and sectors where it has the potential and capability to scale up and become globally competitive. This will help India become part of global value chains in collaboration with partner countries. She said this opens huge opportunities for Indian and Bangladesh businesses to look at sector where they can collaborate. Abdul Matlub Ahmed, President of India-Bangladesh Chamber of Commerce, spoke on the need to capitalise on the new opportunity given to both nations through mutual trust and cooperation. The change in the world economic scenario is pushing India and Bangladesh as the land of great investment opportunities, he said. Matlub emphasised on the need for more investments, integration, cohesion, capacity building and knowledge sharing in the South Asian region to build a robust trade network. Industry leaders from the Iffad Group, Tata Motors, SBI Bangladesh, Indofil, and Shorthi Enterprises amongst others deliberated on the new opportunities in global trade and the regional scenario across different sectors of economy.
