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Meeting with Pakistan business delegation

A business delegation from the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FPCCI) led by its President Atif Ikram Sheikh visited Dhaka Chamber of Commerce & Industry (DCCI) to attend the “Bangladesh-Pakistan Business Forum” with a view to boosting bilateral trade and investment further. The meeting was held on January 14, 2025 at the DCCI auditorium chaired by the DCCI President Taskeen Ahmed.

DCCI President Taskeen Ahmed welcoming the delegation said that the trade statistics between Bangladesh and Pakistan underscore both progress and potentials. During FY2024, Bangladesh imported goods worth USD 627.8 million from Pakistan against the export of USD 61.98 million. He also said that the bilateral trade volume is not up to the expected level since the trade between these two nations faces significant challenges, including non-tariff barriers (NTBs) and tariff disparities. Resuming direct flights between Dhaka and Karachi and introducing shipping routes would facilitate smoother trade, he added. Moreover, to unlock the full potential of bilateral trade, both nations may consider signing a bilateral trade agreement like FTA or PTA. Sectors like agriculture, cement clinkers, leather goods, surgical instruments, chemicals, IT and public health management offer significant opportunities for joint initiatives, he opined.

Atif Ikram Sheikh, President of the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FPCCI), said despite huge potential, bilateral trade has not yet reached the desired level. He said that about 55% of Pakistan's total exports to Bangladesh come from the textile and apparel sector, while the majority of Bangladesh's exports depend on the ready-made garment sector, so there is scope to add more new products to the import-export activities. He urged the entrepreneurs of Bangladesh to import more agricultural products, rice, ceramics and other products from Pakistan. Moreover, Bangladesh has recently made great progress in the field of information technology and mobile financing, Atif Ikram said, especially in the field of information technology, businessmen of the two countries can work on joint investment. He later urged the Bangladeshi exporters to use Pakistan as a corridor while exporting Bangladeshi products to other countries. He also added that development of infrastructure in the logistic sector would expedite both export and import.

H.E. Syed Ahmed Maroof, High Commissioner of Pakistan to Bangladesh, said that recently the movement of goods between the two countries by sea has started and if these business activities of trade and investment continue, bilateral trade will be able to reach USD 3 billion in the next 2 to 3 years.

DCCI Senior Vice President Razeev H. Chowdhury said that both countries have a large pool of young and innovative population those are very keen in IT sector. To utilize this potential, he called upon Pakistani IT entrepreneurs to come to Bangladesh and invest in the Hi-tech Park here.

Senior Vice President of FPCCI Saqib Fayyaz Maggon said that the more we can increase the export, import volume, the more we can decrease the price of products. He also stressed on signing an FTA between these two countries. Moreover, he made a suggestion of popularizing tourism of both countries through joint collaboration.

DCCI Director Saif Ud Dowlah also spoke on the occasion.

Later a B2B match-making session among the Pakistan delegation and members companies of DCCI was held. Nearly 100 member companies of DCCI participated in the B2B session.

DCCI Vice President Md. Salim Solaiman and members of the Board of DCCI also attended the function.

Published on: 2025-01-14