DHAKA, Dec 6, 2021 (BSS) - Prime Minister's Private Industry and 
Investment Adviser Salman F Rahman today expressed his optimism that the 
Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) to Bangladesh would increase two to three 
times within the next couple of years.

     The Adviser expressed such hope when a high-level delegation, led by 
Hartwig Schafer, Vice-President, South Asia Region of the World Bank, held a 
meeting with him today at his office in Bangladesh Investment Development 
Authority (BIDA) building in the capital's Agargaon area.

     The meeting discussed various issues including expansion of trade and 
investment opportunities in Bangladesh and capital market development, said a 
press release. 

     Hartwig Schafer highly praised the inclusive growth achieved by 
Bangladesh in the last decade. The vice-president drew the attention of the 
adviser to the lower GDP-FDI ratio of Bangladesh. 

     In response, the advisor apprised of the delegation that the ratio has 
been steady in the last decade. "As the size of GDP is increasing every year, 
the inflow of FDI is also growing," he added.

     Salman briefed the World Bank delegation about the steps undertaken by 
the government of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina which include unprecedented 
growth in the power sector, turning agriculture into agribusiness, setting up 
of more than 100 economic zones to promote foreign direct investment as well 
as local investment and save arable land from unplanned development.

     The government's steps also include establishing National Skills 
Development Authority to train and developing skilled human resources for 
meeting the needs of Fourth Industrial Revolutions, building nationwide IT 
infrastructure for widening digital connectivity across the country, framing 
new laws and amending regulations for creating an enabling environment for 
boosting investment in the private sector. 

     The advisor also mentioned the extraordinary success of the government 
in mass vaccination to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic and keep the detection of 
coronavirus and death rate under control. 

     Md. Sirazul Islam, Executive Chairman, BIDA, Professor Shibli Rubayat-
Ul-Islam, Chairman, Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC), 
Bikarna Kumar Ghosh, Managing Director (Additional Secretary), Bangladesh 
High-tech Park Authority were present, among others, at the meeting. 

     The World Bank delegation members who accompanied the Vice-President are 
Mercy Tembon, Country Director for Bangladesh and Bhutan, Zoubida Allaoua, 
Regional Director, Equitable Growth, Finance, and Institutions, South Asia 
Region, Cecile Fruman, Director, Regional Integration and Engagement, South 
Asia, Yutaka Yoshino, Lead Country Economist and Program Leader.