Wales Bangladesh Chamber of Commerce visits Bangladesh to strengthen trade bonds

The Wales Bangladesh Chamber of Commerce (WBCC) is undertaking their third trade visit to Dhaka to continue their efforts to strengthen trade ties with Bangladesh, and to highlight commercial opportunities presented by Welsh companies.

The visit will build on the success of the visit in December 2016 of the Prime Minister’s Trade Envoy to Bangladesh Rushanara Ali, the British High Commission said in a statement.

During their visit, WBCC will visit Dhaka, Sylhet and Chittagong and meet key government officials and industry leaders in order to seek out “the best business opportunities and to strengthen trade bonds”.

“The delegation will highlight new companies that are the best in their sector to explore the potential to generate commercial gains for both nations and to help meet mutual prosperity goals”.

The delegation includes representatives from the University of South Wales (the largest university in Wales) and IJH Consulting who distribute UK manufactured compressors across Bangladesh.

Welcoming the delegation, British High Commissioner to Alison Blake at a reception on Tuesday said she was “delighted” that they were visiting Bangladesh for the third time.

“Their entrepreneurial spirit and dedication to the commercial and cultural bonds between our two countries is a great example of Britain’s outward facing and global engagement,” she said.

Chair and leader of Delegation Dilabor A Hussain said this was “an excellent opportunity to showcase the longstanding partnership between Wales and Bangladesh”.

“I hope our strategic vision may lead to beneficial business wins and the Wales Bangladesh Chamber will continue to support in building bridges for the commercial benefit of both countries”.

The UK has strong business interests in Bangladesh and remains the largest foreign investor.

Over 240 British companies are registered in sectors including retail, banking, energy, infrastructure, consultancy and education with main centres of operation in Dhaka, Chittagong and Sylhet.

The UK is also the third single largest destination for exports from Bangladesh.