DHAKA, May 23, 2023 (BSS) - The American Chamber of Commerce in Bangladesh 
(AmCham) held discussion on "Bilateral Trade Relations for Driving Growth" 
yesterday at a city hotel in order to boost the US-Bangladesh trade.

Brendan Lynch, Assistant U.S. Trade Representative (USTR), South and Central 
Asia (Acting) and Mahnaz Khan, director for South Asia, (USTR) attended the 
discussion as the guests of honour. AmCham President Syed Ershad Ahmed was 
present as the session chair where Syed Mohammad Kamal, vice president, 
AmCham moderated the discussion.

While welcoming the guests in the event, AmCham President Syed Ershad Ahmed 
highlighted the fact that partnerships are critical. "We value the mutual 
cooperation between the USA and Bangladesh. USA is the single largest export 
market for Bangladeshi goods in the world and the bilateral Trade Volume in 
FY2022 was approximately $14 Billion, a number we're working hard to 
increase,"

He said the USA is still the largest contributor to Foreign Direct Investment 
(FDI) in Bangladesh and the biggest source of remittance too, said a press 
release today.

Ershad Ahmed also hoped that more cooperation may attract more investment in 
diversified segments and thus contribute to the graduation of Bangladesh into 
a developing nation.

Both the guests of honor Brendan Lynch and Mahnaz Khan from USTR applauded 
the work of AmCham and the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) underscored the 
outline of the growth drivers that bilateral trade can play to improve the 
relations of the two friendly nations on the eve of its 50th anniversary, 
especially during the post pandemic geo-political situation where global 
supply chain is disrupted causing unrest in the economy of many countries in 
this region. 

They both mentioned that the USA has a keen interest to invest in different 
sectors of Bangladesh. 

Mahnaz Khan overviewed about potential investment opportunities in 
Bangladesh.

AmCham former presidents including Forrest E Cookson, Aftab Ul Islam and Md. 
Nurul Islam shared their perspective on the US role in the WTO fostering the 
economic growth, the background of TICFA and its potentials, the 
opportunities of FDI from USA in various sectors apart from power and energy 
and role of the United States International Development Finance Corporation 
(DFC) in fostering the bilateral economic growth.

Policy Research Institute of Bangladesh (PRI) chairman Dr. Zaidi Sattar 
supplemented on the role of WTO and in the evolving geo-political environment 
how both US-Bangladesh can act on its days ahead. 

Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) president 
Faruque Hassan shared the improvement Bangladesh has made in the last decade 
ensuring a safe working place and suggested to consider the preferential 
tariff regime similar to GSP for Bangladesh once it completes LDC graduation.

Bangladesh-Malaysia Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BMCCI) President Syed 
Almas Kabir shared his idea of upcoming changes in ICT and knowledge-based 
industry and invited US academic footprint in the sector. 

AmCham member and former BASIS president Habibullah N. Karim as well as 
current BASIS President Russell T Ahmed echoed the potential Bangladesh holds 
for ICT industry that revolves around blockchain, artificial intelligence so 
on and invited the visiting team to explore the opportunities and share the 
experiences back in USA.

The managing director of Coca-Cola Bangladesh Ltd, Ta Duy Tung suggested for 
ensuring ease of doing business with regard to taxation policy and energy 
situation in Bangladesh and their future investment plan to expand the 
operation. 

ICC Bangladesh president Mahbubur Rahman, Dhaka Chamber of Commerce & 
Industry (DCCI) President Md. Sameer Sattar, Sohail RK Hussain, managing 
director & CEO of Meghna Bank Ltd, MS Siddiqui spoke, among others, on the 
occasion.

AmCham will continue this series of events focusing on different aspects with 
a view to identify the opportunities/issues and recommend action/policies to 
enhance economic cooperation between the USA and Bangladesh. 

A good number of AmCham members including the executive committee members, 
foreign dignitaries, business leaders, think tanks and other distinguished 
guests attended the event.