PM Sheikh Hasina urges Dutch business leaders to be partner with Bangladesh

"We have already graduated to a lower middle-income country and we are on the way to becoming a digitalized, knowledge-based middle-income country by realizing our 'Vision 2021' and a developed country by 2041. As we strive to achieve those goals, I request you to partner with us in investment, trade, profit-sharing and prosperity," she said.

"We don't want to remain as a lower middle-income country. We want to become a real middle-income country by 2021 and a developed nation by 2041. I'm confident that Bangladesh would surely achieve the goal. If we work together, we can bring a change in the life of millions of people," she added.

The Prime Minister was addressing a business seminar on "Transforming Bangladesh: Partnership for Economic Opportunities" held at the Grand Hotel Amarath Kurhaus in The Hague.

State Minister for Water Resources Md Nazrul Islam, Former Dutch agriculture minister Dr Cees Veerman, Prime Minister's Principal Secretary Md Abul Kalam Azad, Dutch Ambassador to Bangladesh Leoni Cuelenaere and leader of Dutch business team Maarten Verbruggen spoke at the seminar.

Leader of the Bangladesh business delegation and First Vice President of FBCCI Md Shafiul Islam Mohiuddin made a presentation titled "Economic Opportunities for Partnership between Bangladesh and the Netherlands", while Senior Secretary of Commerce Ministry Hedayet Ullah Al Mamoon delivered the concluding remarks.

Distinguished leaders of business and industry of the Netherlands and members of the Bangladesh business delegation were present.

The Prime Minister also welcomed Dutch companies to invest in the emerging sectors like textiles, leather, jute, ceramics, petrochemicals, pharmaceuticals, shipbuilding, agro-processing, plastic goods, light engineering and electronics, telecommunications and IT, power, energy, water and marine and other infrastructure projects, hi-tech manufacturing and microprocessors.

Sheikh Hasina said her country has the most liberal investment policy in South Asia as it includes protection of foreign investment by law, generous tax holiday, concessionary duty on import of machinery, remittances of royalty, 100 percent foreign equity, unrestricted exit policy, full repatriation of dividend and capital on exit and many more.

"Other advantages include the young, industrious and easily trainable abundant workforce with competitive wages, cheaper costs of establishing business and duty-free and quota-free access to the EU, Australian, Canadian, Indian, Japanese and New Zealand markets," she added.

The Prime Minister mentioned that Bangladesh made tremendous success in the readymade garment (RMG) sector as the country is now the second largest garment exporter in the world.

"The industry employs four million workers, 90 percent of whom are women from the poor families ... their employment has been an instrument for women empowerment as well as keeping our society liberal and progressive," she added.

Sheikh Hasina said Bangladesh has been making steadfast efforts and undertaken serious reforms in improving health, safety, and wages and working conditions in the RMG sector, while a responsible business conduct for sustainable supply chain is in operation in Bangladesh.

"We deeply appreciate the valuable support from the government and the businesses of the Netherlands in our efforts in this regard," she said.

Like the RMG sector, she said, other sectors are making significant progress and pharmaceutical is such a sector.

"After meeting up 97 percent of our domestic requirements, our pharmaceutical products are exported to 83 countries. The industry is now equipped to produce biotech products and Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (API). Bangladesh is fast emerging as a major global hub for high quality, low-cost generic medicines," she said.

The Prime Minister said the country's ICT and related industry is also expanding rapidly.

Sheikh Hasina noted that Gartner has billed Bangladesh as one of the top 30 global destinations for software and IT services ... thousands of made in Bangladesh applications are running on iPhones, Samsung Galaxy, and other Android and Blackberry phones.

"Last year our IT companies and freelance IT professionals earned over US$ 360 million. Every year, around 20,000 young IT graduates are joining the sector," she added.

Apart from these, she said, shipbuilding is another fast-emerging industry in Bangladesh. "Our builders have drawn global attention by making world-class light to medium-size oceangoing vessels. The industry now commands 1 percent share of the US$ 200 billion global market."

Mentioning that Bangladesh has eight fully operational "Export Processing Zones" (EPZs) exclusively for 100 percent export-oriented industries, Sheikh Hasina said her government is now working on establishing 100 "Economic Zones" (EZs) in different parts of the country as part of "our new plan to industrialize Bangladesh".

"We are also developing a number of hi-tech parks in Bangladesh for IT industries. We offer competitive incentive packages for the investors in these zones and parks. Anyone can come as a 'developer' and 'operator' of an entire Zone or an investor in these Zones and Parks," she said.

Recalling that the Netherlands was one of the first European countries to recognize Bangladesh on 11 February 1972, the Prime Minister said since then, the country has been a reliable development and trading partner of Bangladesh.

"The relationship between our two countries has reached a newer height through the exchange of a number of high-level visits in the recent past," she said.

Sheikh Hasina said the Dutch-Bangla business ties started its journey by the Dutch East India Company in 1602 on spices, and with a paradigm shift, the Dutch companies were active in Bangladesh in the early years following its independence.

Currently, she said, the total investment by the Dutch investors in Bangladesh stands at US Dollar 684 million. Around 30 Dutch companies, including Unilever, Philips, Organon, are presently active in Bangladesh, she said.

Highlighting various successes of the government in different socioeconomic sectors, the Prime Minister said Bangladesh has made significant progress in alleviating poverty, attaining food security, education, health and sanitation, gender mainstreaming, social safety nets, human rights and so on.

"Bangladesh is now widely recognized as a 'role model' for development."

Sheikh Hasina also talked about different issues related to housing, climate change and renewable energy in the question-answer session of the seminar.