PM Hasina offers separate economic zone for UK investors

Offering the British investors a special economic zone in Bangladesh, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina yesterday sought large-scale investments from them for mutual benefits.

"We have been attaching the highest priority to the foreign direct investment (FDI) in Bangladesh. For that, we have been establishing 100 economic zones, high-tech parks and incubation centres across the country," she said.

If the British investors want, Bangladesh will allocate a separate economic zone for them as "we have given land for establishing separate economic zones for some other countries", she said.

The premier said this when a British cross party parliamentary delegation led by Vice Chair of All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Bangladesh and Chair of APPG on Indo-British, Virendra Sharma, MP, paid a courtesy call on her at her official Ganabhaban residence here.

PM's Speechwriter M Nazrul Islam briefed newsmen after the meeting.

Sheikh Hasina said Bangladesh is well connected to South East Asia and South Asia that have a market of 300 crore people due to its geographical location.

"So, the investor will face no trouble to find out markets of their produced goods," she said.
She continued that her government has been putting everything online to cut the procedural time to invest in Bangladesh.

"The government has already put some 110 items online out of 170. Rest of the 60 items will be put online very soon," she said.

The British MPs pledged to work closely to take forward the development initiatives of the government for the socioeconomic advancement of Bangladesh and its people.

The five-member parliamentary delegation includes Paul Scully, MP, former Conservative Minister for Tech and Digital Economy, Neil Coyle, MP, Member of UK House of Commons Select Committee on Foreign Affairs, Andrew Western, MP, Opposition Whip at the House of Commons and Dominic Moffitt, Senior Parliamentary Assistant at House of Commons.

The delegation which arrived in Dhaka on January 27 is scheduled to depart for London on 31 January.