To Celebrate Bangladesh’s Graduation from LDC
Monday, 23 July 2018. at The Park Hotel, Kolkata
Bangladesh Deputy High Commission in Kolkata in association with Merchants’ Chamber of Commerce & Industry organized a Seminar on “Bangladesh’s Graduation from LDC : Prospects of Bangladesh-India Economic Engagement”, today at Park Hotel, to celebrate Bangladesh’s graduation from a least developed country to a developing country. The Seminar was addressed by :
- Mr. Sadhan Pande, Hon’ble Minister of Consumer Affairs, Self Help Group & Self Employment Government of West Bengal
- H.E. Mr. Syed Muazzem Ali, High Commissioner for the People’s Republic of Bangladesh, New Delhi, India
- H. E. Mr. Toufique Hasan, Deputy High Commissioner for the People’s Republic of Bangladesh in Kolkata
Other Speakers were :
- Dr. Jamaluddin Ahmed, FCA, General Secretary Bangladesh Economic Association, Bangladesh
- Prof. (Dr.) Rajagopal Dhar Chakraborti, Director, Indian Institute of Social Welfare & Business Management (IISWBM), Kolkata
- Mr. Sheikh Fazle Fahim, Senior Vice President, The Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FBCCI), Bangladesh
Addressing the House, Mr. Syed Muazzem Ali, High Commissioner of Bangladesh expressed gratitude to the people of Kolkata, who had provided all round support and cooperation to the Mukti Yuddha and all round development of the country. Stressing on more connectivity between the two countries, he mentioned about commissioning of Akhaura to Agartala – 18 km railway stretch, which will provide the North east an access to Chittagong port. He also mentioned about the rising bilateral trade with India, which has crossed 6 billion USD in 2016-17. He suggested relaxation of Visa regime on a long term basis. He invited Indian investment for the 3 exclusive economic zones for Indian investment. He said that the ‘zero tolerance to terrorism’ strategy by Bangladesh since 2009, has been the hallmark of Indo – Bangladesh cooperation. He also stressed on cooperation in energy sector.
“We are for total cooperation with Bangladesh”, said Shri Sadhan Pande, Hon’ble Minister. He suggested about using Bangladesh oil & gas for Haldia. He invited Bangladeshi investments in West Bengal and assured all possible support.
Earlier, in his welcome address, Mr. Ramesh Agarwal, President MCCI congratulated the Policy Makers and Industry Leaders of Bangladesh for this very significant achievement regarding graduation from LDC status. He said that the LDC category was introduced by the United Nations in 1971, and Bangladesh was the only country that met all three criteria for graduation including GNI per capita, Human Assets Index, and Economic Vulnerability Index. This graduation would bring in a lot of opportunities for the country, no doubt, but there would be quite a few challenges, overcoming these challenges will be critical for a smooth graduation process.