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BSS- 39
DCCI-US-ENVOY
US-Bangladesh Business Council to be launched soon: US envoy
DHAKA, March 21, 2021 (BSS) – Ambassador of USA to Bangladesh Earl R
Miller today informed that US-Bangladesh Business Council will be launched
soon to facilitate US investments in the country.
“The resiliency of Bangladesh is very remarkable. The bilateral relation
between the USA and Bangladesh mainly depends on strong economic ties and the
future of it is limitless. Soon US-Bangladesh Business Council will be
launched and which reflects that the US investors are keen to invest in
Bangladesh,” he said.
The US envoy said this while paying a courtesy visit to Dhaka Chamber of
Commerce and Industry (DCCI) at the DCCI office in the capital, said a press
release.
Economic Affairs Unit Chief of the US Embassy in Bangladesh John Dunham
and Director of the Economic Growth Office, USAID John Smith-Sreen were also
present during the meeting.
Earl R Miller congratulated the people of Bangladesh on the occasion of
its golden jubilee and celebration of Bangabandhu’s birth centenary.
He said that the entrepreneurial energy of Bangladeshi people is really
notable.
The Ambassador said agriculture, automobile, blue economy, tourism, eco-
tourism and light engineering are some of the potential avenues for the US
investors.
In 2019, he said the bilateral trade between Bangladesh and USA reached
record $9 billion.
Earl R Miller also urged on improving ease of doing business index and
development of infrastructure including port infrastructure.
During the meeting, DCCI President Rizwan Rahman said that the bilateral
trade between Bangladesh and the United States recorded 37.6 percent growth
over the last ten years.
“It reached to $7.96 billion in FY2020 of which Bangladesh’s export was
$5.83 billion and import was $2.13 billion,” he added.
He also sought investment from the USA, particularly in the medical
equipment and safety gears, automobile, smart farming technology, food
processing and 4IR technologies.
He said Bangladeshi RMG exporters pay 15.62 percent duty on their
shipments to the USA which is the highest compared to other exporting nations
to US.
He urged the USA to include RMG, footwear and dairy products of Bangladesh
under duty free quota free (DFQF) facility of USA.
He said the United States is the top source of Foreign Direct Investment
into Bangladesh.
Members of the DCCI Board were also present during the meeting.
BSS/PR/KUC/ARS/1955 hrs