State Minister for Foreign Affairs Shahriar Alam, inaugurated the exhibition, ‘Made in Bangladesh’ at a local hotel in Pretoria, South Africa organized by the Bangladesh High Commission in Pretoria. The exhibition was jointly organized by Business Unity, South Africa, BUSA, and Black Business Council, South Africa. Shahriar Alam inaugurated the exhibition formally by cutting the ribbon. South African government officials, chamber representatives, business personalities, and ambassadors based in Pretoria joined the event. The visiting guests highly appreciated the jute, ceramic, textiles, leather, food products, and handicrafts of Bangladesh which were put on display in the exhibition.
A seminar was organized on the occasion. State Minister in his speech touched upon Bangladesh’s remarkable march in the economic sphere. He urged South African businesses and investors to engage more with Bangladesh. He cited the different emerging industrial sectors of Bangladesh. Bangladesh High Commissioner, South African chamber officials, and the Foreign Ministry officials of South Africa also spoke at the event.
The South African Foreign Ministry representative in her speech referred to the close and traditional bonds between Bangladesh and South Africa. She highly commended the able leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and Bangladesh’s progress toward achieving Vision 2041. She urged the Bangladeshi businessmen to be more engaged with South Africa to benefit from business opportunities there and for more cooperation between the chambers. In his speech, the Black Business Council representative suggested that Bangladesh may import various goods from South Africa given the large and growing consumer market of Bangladesh. He termed South Africa as a lucrative business destination and Bangladeshi businessmen can reach out to other SADC countries from there.
Earlier, the State Minister had an interaction with the representatives of Business Unity South Africa (BUSA) at their office in Sandston. He was accompanied by the Bangladesh High Commissioner in Pretoria and officials of the Foreign Ministry. At the outset, the BUSA officials referred to the huge trade and business opportunities between Bangladesh and South Africa. The State Minister urged joint efforts for realizing the trade and business opportunities between Bangladesh and South Africa. He mentioned the economic strength of both countries, especially, in the export sectors. He urged for the augmentation of mutual exports and imports by means of enhancing contacts. The State Minister invited the South African dignitaries and chambers to join the 50th-anniversary programs of FBCCI in March 2023 in Dhaka.
The BUSA delegation suggested holding mutual discussions to identify potential sectors of trade and Investment.