Address
by H.E. Mr. M. Morshed Khan, MP, Foreign Minister
of Bangladesh as
Chief Guest at the inauguration of "14th
U.S. Trade Show, 2005".
American
Chamber of Commerce in Bangladesh
and
the United States Embassy
Wednesday
16
February 2005
Dhaka
Sheraton Hotel
President,
American Chamber of Commerce in Bangladesh
His
Excellency Mr. Harry K. Thomas,
Ambassador
of the United States of America,
Distinguished
participants,
Excellencies,
Ladies
and Gentlemen,
I
am indeed very happy to inaugurate the 14th
U.S. Trade Show 2005, which is co-sponsored by the
American Chamber of Commerce in Bangladesh and the
United States Embassy in Dhaka. Such events symbolize
and reinforce at the same time the excellent bonds
of friendship between America and Bangladesh.
Bangladesh and the US share the common values
of democracy, human rights and freedom and strive
to uphold international peace and stability.
Our
friendly relations are marked by mutual trust and
respect. One may say these have matured in many ways
to reflect appreciation of each other's viewpoints,
constraints and achievements.
Distinguished
guests,
Bangladesh as a moderate, Muslim majority democracy
in the region is committed to play a constructive
role in promoting peace, stability and progress in
South Asia. We welcome and support a constructive
US engagement with all countries in South Asia. Likewise,
the US appreciates the contribution made by Bangladesh
in promoting global peace and security through our
significant participation in numerous UN peace-keeping
missions.
The
constructive interactions between the two countries
in my view augurs very well for taking our relationship
further. The last few years have seen tremendous strides
in this regard. The US help in disaster management,
multilateral and bilateral development assistance,
in promoting good governance and other areas of mutual
interest is highly appreciated. Bangladesh remains
a committed partner in the global war on terror.
The
well being of our peoples is intricately linked to
our economic and trading relations. I believe, the
excellent political understanding between the two
countries should encourage us to strive together to
identify areas where new initiatives could produce
desired results. Cooperation in newer areas such as
prevention of money laundering, trafficking in persons,
strengthening border control and avoidance of double
taxation has led to significant progress. Negotiation
has now resumed on a Trade and Investment Framework
Agreement.
Ladies
and Gentlemen,
The
US remains the single largest market for our apparel
products. And in the post-MFA situation, it is of
crucial importance to preserve our share in the US
market. No doubt, the onus is primarily on our industry
leaders.
In
that context, the private sector driven initiative
of securing duty and quota free access in the US market
for products from Bangladesh and a number of other
LDCs is extremely important. Hopefully, with sustained
efforts, we would earn a favourable response from
our friends in the US Congress to the recently introduced
bill titled "Trade Relief Assistance for Developing
Economies (TRADE)".
We
are looking forward to holding a single country trade
and cultural road show soon in some US cities. I would
like to commend this initiative taken by the US State
Department. Our
sincere thanks are also owed to Ambassador Harry Thomas
for his thoughtful and constructive leadership in
making this a reality.
Friends,
Bangladesh
has put in place investment-friendly policies that
are among the most liberal in the region. We have
implemented a liberalized import regime even in the
face of large deficits.
A
number of high-level investment delegations have visited
Bangladesh over the last few months. Seen in the context
of organized campaigns to tarnish the image of Bangladesh,
this is significant progress. According to World Investment
Report 2004 released globally by UNCTAD, in 2003-2004,
foreign direct investment drawn by Bangladesh in percentage
terms was the highest in South Asia (around 113%).
I
sincerely hope that with the help of the AMCHAM, the
US investors will find Bangladesh an attractive place
to doing business and making investment. No doubt
this would contribute further in steering our relations
to a newer height.
With these few words, I wish this Trade Show
a great success in bringing the private sectors of
our two countries closer in a mutually beneficial
way.
