Finland companies keen on bilateral trade with Bangladesh
Finnish companies are keen on availing bilateral solutions in close partnership with Bangladeshi counterparts, said Juho Romakkaniemi, the president and CEO of Finland Chamber of Commerce (FCC), in an FBCCI Cloud Conference on Wednesday.
FCC is eagerly waiting to engage with the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI) alongside trade ministries in the upcoming ‘Bilateral Business Event’ on 9 December, he said, reports news agency UNB.
FBCCI president Sheikh Fazle Fahim delivered the welcome speech at the cloud conference titled ‘Bilateral Trade and Investment Opportunities in the Ongoing Global Pandemic and Beyond’, according to a press release from the apex trade body.
“Many Finnish companies that are bringing technology to Bangladesh through investments, we’re more than happy to present them with opportunities in the field of the circular economy, energy, forest, logistic, and digital services industry; where we’ve the most opportunities for bilateral trade,” said the FCC president.
FBCCI president Fahim said: “Although Bangladeshi products enjoy DFQF facility in Finland under the EU GSP (EBA) policy, our bilateral trade with Finland remains far below potential.”
The current bilateral trade trend between the two nations shows a significant decline of 47.44 per cent in bilateral trade, from US$ 244 million in FY18-19 to US$ 165.61 million in FY2019-20. Meanwhile, imports decreased from US$ 204 million in FY 18-19 to US$ 130.9 million in FY19-20. Exports in the same period declined by US$ 4.79 million.
Highlighting the current standing of bilateral trade and proposing to explore trade recovery and diversification, the FBCCI president underscored prospective products entailing leather and footwear products, specialised textiles, light engineering products, FMCG, agro-processed products, diversified jute products as an alternative to plastics, generic pharmaceuticals, and health-protective equipment.
Fahim also conveyed identifying bilateral value chain initiatives exploring Finland’s cutting-edge technology support in ICT, start-up ecosystem, skills, ADR, applied research, among others.
Timo Vuori, senior executive vice president, Finland Chamber of Commerce, and Jenni Isola, secretary general of Finland-ASEAN Business Association also spoke in the conference.