US private sector keen to boost investment, create jobs in Bangladesh: Mahdi Amin

The US private sector is keen to increase investment in Bangladesh and create new employment opportunities, Prime Minister’s Adviser and spokesperson Mahdi Amin said on Thursday following a meeting between Prime Minister Tarique Rahman and a 50-member delegation of the US-Bangladesh Business Council.

The meeting was held at around 9:30am at the Prime Minister’s Office at the Bangladesh Secretariat, with discussions focusing on expanding US investment, strengthening bilateral trade ties and accelerating Bangladesh’s economic growth through greater private-sector cooperation.

Mahdi Amin described the discussions as “highly productive and effective”, saying detailed and positive talks were held on how US private-sector support could help increase foreign investment, create jobs and accelerate the country’s economic progress.

Representatives of 25 leading US companies took part in the delegation, which comprised around 50 senior business executives.

Mahdi Amin said the discussions focused on expanding US investment in Bangladesh and further strengthening the longstanding trade relationship between the two countries.

The meeting also discussed how the US private sector could play an effective role in implementing the government’s election manifesto and various policy initiatives, he said.

He added that US business leaders had expressed interest in contributing to faster economic growth through job creation.

Mahdi Amin expressed hope that the visit by representatives of the 25 leading US companies would further strengthen Bangladesh-US economic ties.

“We firmly believe that this successful meeting with the Prime Minister will take us one step closer to building a self-reliant and prosperous Bangladesh,” he said.

The 25 organisations represented in the delegation were the US-Bangladesh Business Council, US Chamber of Commerce, Constellation Energy, Chevron, Meta, Visa, US Soybean Export Council, MetLife, Boeing, Uber, Asia Group, APR Energy, Venva, VF Corporation, Corteva Agriscience, Salesforce, Ulka Semiconductor, Pathao, Cisco, Abbott, Metrotac, HSBC Bank, Standard Chartered Bank, Anchorless and Drinkwell.

The delegation was led by Oliver Simpson, Executive Vice-President and Chief Commercial Officer of Constellation Energy, and Ambassador Atul Keshap (retd), President of the US-Bangladesh Business Council and Senior Vice-President for South Asia at the US Chamber of Commerce.

US private sector to support Bangladesh’s $1 trillion economy

Atul Keshap told reporters that the delegation was honoured by the warm hospitality extended by the Prime Minister and members of his government.

“We have had some extremely productive meetings during our visit to Bangladesh,” he said.

He said US companies were proud to be Bangladesh’s largest foreign investment partners and had been contributing high standards of management, business ethics and modern technological capabilities.

Keshap said the delegation had listened carefully to the Prime Minister’s vision for the country’s future, including his commitment to harnessing Bangladesh’s human resources and the potential of its people.

He said the delegation was confident in the Prime Minister’s vision of transforming Bangladesh into a $1 trillion economy by 2034.

“We believe the private sector can be one of the most powerful catalysts for accelerating the wellbeing and economic prosperity of the people of Bangladesh by bringing technology, global experience and sufficient capital,” he said.

Keshap said Bangladesh was a country of immense potential and that several US companies had built partnerships with its people over several decades, contributing to job creation, government revenue and overall economic development.

He said the US private sector was committed to maintaining and strengthening the relationship in the years ahead.

As a representative of the US Chamber of Commerce, Keshap said they had observed the government’s “specific and highly positive approach” to social development, public welfare, job creation and maintaining balance in macroeconomic indicators.

He said the delegation would convey the positive message to the US business community through their respective organisations and the US Chamber of Commerce.

Keshap thanked the Prime Minister, members of the government, secretaries, advisers and others concerned for their hospitality, expressing hope that the sustainable partnership between the Bangladesh government, its people and US businesses would continue to grow in the coming decades.

Among other members of the delegation were Mastercard Senior Vice-President for Global Public Policy and Indo-Pacific Policy Operations Ravi Arora; Mastercard Bangladesh Country Manager Zakia Sultana; Meta South Asia Director of Public Policy Cha Yuen Ting; Meta Bangladesh Head of Public Policy Ruzan Sarwar; US Soybean Export Council Executive Director for the Middle East, North Africa and South Asia Kevin Roepke; US Soybean Export Council Bangladesh Country Team Lead Khabibur Rahman; Visa Vice-President and Head of Government Affairs for India and South Asia Anand Vijay Jha; and Visa Country Manager for Bangladesh, Nepal and Bhutan Sabbir Ahmed.

Speaking at the meeting were Boeing President for South Asia and India and Vice-President of Boeing Global Salil Gupte; Chevron Bangladesh Managing Director and President Shue Shiong; MetLife Senior Vice-President for Bangladesh, Malaysia, Nepal and Vietnam Elena Butarova; Uber Head of Public Policy and Government Relations for Asia-Pacific Pia Bruner; and US-Bangladesh Business Council Executive Director for Bangladesh and South Asia Siddhant Mehra.

Others in the delegation included US Chamber of Commerce Senior Director for South Asia Patrick Pitts; US-Bangladesh Business Council Director for South Asia Udaya Arun; US-Bangladesh Business Council Director Debi Chatterjee; and US Chamber of Commerce Senior Security Consultant Shemei Levy.