Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Thursday invited Sweden and Spain to invest in Bangladesh’s special economic zones (SEZs) and hi-tech parks, and enjoy the government offered facilities. She made the call when the newly appointed Swedish and Spanish ambassadors in Dhaka met her separately at her official residence Ganobhaban, reports UNB. “We are setting up 100 special economic zones and creating a conducive business environment and opportunities there. So, Sweden can invest here,” she told Swedish Ambassador Alexandra Berg Von Linde. In a separate meeting with Spanish Ambassador Francisco de Asis Benitez Salas, Hasin urged Spanish investors to invest in high-tech parks along with the SEZs. Investing in the SEZs and high-tech parks, investors could avail the tax benefits and attract foreign direct investment-friendly packages, she said. Apart from the apparel sector, the primer invited the foreign investors from countries in Bangladesh’s promising jute, leather and pharmaceutical sectors. Both the two diplomats in the meetings appreciated Hasina and said that their countries were interested to boost economic relations with Bangladesh. ”Sweden developed many green and environment-friendly technologies,” said Ambassador Linde, and requested Bangladesh to use those innovations. She also said that Sweden wanted to work more closely with Bangladesh on other social and economic issues. The prime minister appreciated Sweden for not cancelling any purchase order relating to the apparel industry of Bangladesh during the Covid-19 pandemic. With the rise in Coronavirus globally, the garment production came down in Bangladesh due to cancellation of purchase orders from different countries, she said and gave special thanks to Swedish multinational clothing-retail company H&M for not cancelling any order during the bad time. Sheikh Hasina termed Bangladesh-Sweden relations historic, saying that Sweden had been assisting Bangladesh since 1971. The Spanish Ambassador Benitez Salas lauded the role of the Hasina’s government in tackling the Covid situation in Bangladesh. He also appreciated her global leadership role in dealing with climate change issues. ”Spain wants to work with Bangladesh especially on infrastructure development and railways,” said Salas. He told the PM that Spain was the fourth-largest apparel export destination of Bangladesh. Referring to the Covid-19 pandemic, the PM said the pace of Bangladesh economic growth had come down to 5.4 per cent from 8.15 per cent due to this crisis, but her government was trying to overcome the situation. Among many countries, Bangladesh’s economic condition remains good amid the crisis, she said. PM’s Principal Secretary Ahmad Kaikaus and Military Secretary Major General Naqib Ahmed Chowdhury were present in the events.
