This is according to a recent agreement signed between Bangladesh and Egypt. The agreement, signed on September 10, 2024, aims to boost trade and economic cooperation between the two nations. The agreement covers a wide range of sectors, including petrochemicals, fertilizers, and other essential commodities.
Besides, Ashraf Ahmed emphasized on Egypt’s experience and technical support for the development of Bangladesh’s river-based tourism industry, said a press release. The DCCI President opined that Bangladesh can be considered as a gateway to South and Southeast Asian countries in terms of increasing Egyptian exports. He also requested the Egyptian entrepreneurs to come up with investments in Bangladesh’s economic zones or export processing zones. Ashraf also put emphasis on the development of bilateral relations between the trade organizations of the two countries and signing of the memorandum of understanding with the Egyptian trade organizations for faster business to business connections.
He moreover suggested arranging frequent sector-specific targeted B2Bs between the investors of both countries. Ambassador of Egypt in Bangladesh Omar Mohie Eldin Ahmed Fahmy said that despite fifty years of diplomatic-friendly relations between Bangladesh and Egypt, the commercial relationship has not yet reached the expected level, where the bilateral trade in the fiscal year 2022-23 was only $180.55 million. He called upon the Bangladeshi importers to import more petrochemicals and fertilizers from Egypt. The envoy said that an Egyptian company has already invested in Bangladesh’s telecommunication sector, and they are functioning quite well here in Bangladesh. The Ambassador noted that the pharmaceutical industry in Bangladesh is flourishing day by day and there is a strong demand for cancer drugs in the Egyptian market, which Bangladeshi entrepreneurs can take advantage of.
Bangladesh has a strong export sector, but it faces challenges in accessing international markets. One of the the biggest challenges is the high cost of transportation. Bangladesh is exploring alternative routes to overcome this challenge. One such alternative is to utilize the port of Egypt as a ‘trans-shipment hub’.
