Strengthening economic and trade relations

On the historic occasion of the 50th anniversary  of diplomatic relations between the People's Republic of Bangladesh and the United States of America that coincides with the Silver Jubilee of The American Chamber of Commerce in Bangladesh (AmCham), we take both pleasure and pride in providing a common platform for all our members and stakeholders' activities that would encourage more investment, stimulate bilateral trade between these two friendly nations, and support ongoing business operations.

Since establishment, AmCham has played a central role in introducing major American companies to Bangladesh with the core objectives being to promote:

- Exchange of information between the US and Bangladesh with a view to stimulating greater understanding about each other's economic potential and opportunities.

- Economic cooperation between these two economies, particularly in the private sector.

- Support measures calculated to benefit and protect the interests of business.

When Amcham was established, the bilateral trade volume between Bangladesh and the US was only a few millions dollars, which has surpassed more than $9 billion recently. However, we are still working to increase the number through many activities that we introduced here in Bangladesh and undertake each year.

AmCham has been a dynamic platform where many visionary ideas were discussed for the first time in Bangladesh. We, for example, hosted the prime minister and leaders of the opposition numerous times since the beginning. We also participated in various events organised in the US and Asia-Pacific, representing the American business community and contributing in deepening bilateral relations.

We as a chamber for the very first time in Bangladesh started a dedicated, country-specific trade fair in conjunction with the US Embassy in Dhaka in 1992, even before we formally established AmCham.

We introduced awards to recognise the performance of business personalities and entities from the private sector, such as "The Business Executive" award from 1997 and "Outstanding American Company" award from 1999.

To achieve the vision of our honourable Prime Minister of becoming a developed nation by 2041 and achieving the Sustainable Development Goals, we have to attract more investments -- both foreign and local -- and thereby diversify the country's export portfolio.

The current trade and investment scenario remains far below potential.  Unleashing the full potential of the opportunities between Bangladesh and the US will benefit from a systematic assessment of where the opportunities lie, what holds back the full potential, how other competitor countries are making headway, and identifying strategic options for US stakeholders to maximise potential.

We conducted research and published a report last year that will help our next generation set priorities to develop US-Bangladesh trade and Investment. We also publish a quarterly journal covering vital issues of economic interest with a view to identify the opportunities and recommend policies to overcome the snags on the way to progress, where renowned economists and eminent think-tanks from home and abroad contribute regularly to enlighten our readers.

Amcham members consider corporate social responsibility (CSR) as a business strategy for sustainable development. Over the last 30 years, besides business, we cared for the community within Bangladesh and even in neighbouring countries. Few of the initiatives included building cyclone shelters, donating to the prime minister's fund for flood affected people, supporting the local heritage "Jamdani Palli" and its artisans, and even during the disastrous earthquake we supported the affected people in Nepal.

We are thankful to all AmCham members for the wonderful support we have received, also the government agencies of Bangladesh and the US.

If plans are implemented with the help of automation, we hope the promise of providing an attractive destination for investors across the world, not only the US, will come to fruition.

While the world is experiencing a new beginning in the post-pandemic era, we believe under this new order AmCham would be able to contribute to further strengthening the bilateral and multilateral interests between these two friendly nations to create a safe and secured place where our future generations can live and continue to prosper peacefully.