Meeting held between Sara Wilshaw and acting DCCI President
Canadian Senior Assistant Deputy Minister for International Trade and Chief Trade Commissioner Sara Wilshaw today paid a courtesy visit to Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DCCI) and had an interactive meeting with its acting President Razeev H Chowdhury at DCCI Gulshan Center in the city. High Commissioner of Canada to Bangladesh Ajit Singh was also present during the meeting. DCCI Acting President Razeev H Chowdhury said that the bilateral trade between Bangladesh and Canada reached US$2.22 billion in FY2024 while the export from Bangladesh to Canada was $1.32 billion and import from Canada to Bangladesh was $901.09 million.
He mentioned that Canada is the 20th largest FDI Source of Bangladesh and total FDI stock from Canada to Bangladesh recorded $132.83 million. The acting president noted that there is an ample opportunity for Canadian businesses to invest in Bangladesh, particularly in sectors like renewable energy, green technology, waste management, automotive components, education, healthcare, medical equipment, financial services, IT & digital infrastructure, smart logistics, warehousing and cold chain systems.
He also mentioned that Canada can source leather and leather products, Jute and Jute products, handicrafts, bi-cycle, high-end RMG, ceramics, furniture, pharmaceuticals, processed & frozen food, software, BPO services from Bangladesh. Canadian Senior Assistant Deputy Minister (International Trade) Sara Wilshaw said companies in Canada are mostly of SMEs. “Almost 75% of Canadian exports and most of the FDI from Canada go to the USA. On the other hand Canada receives most of the FDI from the USA. But at the same time, it is also important to diversify exports, export market, products to compete in the international market. Canada is good at educational sector and a lot of students from Bangladesh study in Canada,” she added.
She also said that in the education and skill development sector both countries have equal opportunities to work together. She mentioned that Canada has a commendable strength in automotive industry as well as in the food processing industry. She noted that Canada wants to facilitate Bangladesh to be more competitive globally in terms of enhancing supply chain ecosystem.
The Canadian automotive sector is now looking for new market diversification, in that case Bangladesh could be a great market, she added. Ajit Singh said that to strengthen the contact between the businesses, chamber to chamber relation is more important. He said the private sector of Bangladesh is engine of growth of this country and Canada is very much interested to boost its trade with Bangladesh.
“We would like to work in the skills training, technical assistance, vocational training, nursing, agro-tech industry, ease of doing business development side in Bangladesh” he told. Later, he said that there are huge opportunities to strengthen the bilateral trade relation to a new height in the days to come.
DCCI Vice President Md. Salim Sulaiman, Members of the Board of Directors and Counsellor and Senior Trade Commissioner, High Commission of Canada Debra Boyce, among others, were also present during the meeting.
