DHAKA, Aug 30, 2022 (BSS) – Bangladesh-Malaysia Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BMCCI) President Syed Almas Kabir today underscored the need for accelerating friendship between Bangladesh and Malaysia through trade.

“Bangladesh and Malaysia have become development role models for their forward-thinking governments. Malaysia is a crucial bilateral partner for our development due to its fast economic growth, strategic position, active engagement in our local, regional and close ties to Bangladesh in many areas,” he said this in an article marking the 65th ‘National Day’ of Malaysia.

Malaysia observes her National Day on August 31 each year to commemorate the historic event when the Federation of Malaya gained independence in 1957.

Since its inception, Syed Almas Kabir said Malaysia has been working with the determination to build a happy and prosperous nation.

This journey towards the economic and social liberation is a wonder not only for this region but also for the people of the whole world, he added.

He said, “Malaysia is now a younger, politically conscious, and newer nation. One of the first nations to acknowledge the new country, it recognized Bangladesh as an independent and sovereign State on January 31, 1972. Since then, both have made significant progress in establishing their bilateral relationship.”

Syed Almas Kabir, however, said there are several active and cooperative relationships between the two countries across a wide variety of areas.

“Trade and investment, human resources, education, aviation, tourism, sports, the military, research and technology, drug control, human trafficking, and recently developing fields like digital e-commerce are some of these,” he added.

He mentioned, “Due to its extensive international commerce, Malaysia is regarded as an important regional trading center for the ASEAN nations. Bangladesh has been Malaysia's second-largest commercial partner in South Asia in recent years as a result of growing commerce between the two countries. Bangladesh's Golden Jubilee of independence this year, I believe it has attained exceptional heights: from $10.9M in FY1994–1995 to $337M in FY2021–2022, Bangladesh's exports to Malaysia have grown at an annualized rate of 12.4 percent during the past 25 years.”

To strengthen commercial connections, he said, BMCCI continuously works to improve cooperation between its members and the Malaysian business sector.

The BMCCI is making a commendable effort to set up trade promotion events like luncheon meetings, conducting seminars pressing problems, business forums, trade fairs, exchange of business delegations, symposiums, etc. as a tactic for expanding trade and investment prospects between Bangladesh and Malaysia, he added.

He informed that the Chamber's signature program is called ‘Showcase Bangladesh’ and ‘Showcase Malaysia’. Foreign Direct Investments in Bangladesh from Malaysia and vice versa are encouraged by BMCCI, he added.

He said,“ Despite having a significant trade deficit in the past, our export capacity has increased recently. Thanks to BMCCI's work with the business communities of both nations to introduce them to our diverse export goods, we are moving toward a situation with balanced trade. That's why this year, we on behalf of BMCCI have set the theme for Malaysia's Independence Day as ‘Friendship through Trade.”