Malaysia has urged Bangladesh to view Malaysia as gateway to Asean as a wider Asian market and get benefit from it through appropriate measures.”Businesses that adopt a regional strategy are the once likely to thrive in the region’s increasingly liberalised market environment,” said Malaysian Deputy Minister of International Trade and Industry Haji Ahmad bin Haji Maslan.The Deputy Ministersaid Asean’s huge economic potentials will be closely linked to its partners and neighbouring countries such as Bangladesh.As a single entity, Asean is the 7th largest economy in the world with a combined gross domestic product estimated as US$ 2.5 trillion, Haji Maslan said.
He was addressing the inaugural session of the Bangladesh Trade and Investment Summit 2016 at Royal Chulan Hotel in the city.Highlighting the Asean economy, the Malaysian Deputy Minister said Asean’s GDP is projected to become the fourth largest economy in the world by 2050.He said facts on the trade and investment are a strong indicator that the bilateral relationship between the two countries is on the right track.”However, a possible trade agreement between our two countries could further facilitate the trade and investment flows between our two countries,” he added.The Malaysian Deputy Minister said the proposed FTA would certainly add momentum to the current trade relations.”It’ll be mutually beneficial for more access to each other’s markets for goods and services, and investment and removing barriers to doing business.”Bangladesh, however, wants duty-free market access to its products in Malaysia the way it enjoys in other countries.Maslan said Bangladesh is currently Malaysia’s third largest trading partner and third largest import source.In turn, he said, Malaysia is Bangladesh’s 8th largest trading partner and 5th largest import source.Maslan said Malaysia continues to encourage the Bangladesh business community to invest in Malaysia, particularly in new growth areas in both the manufacturing and services sectors. “Malaysia offers a prime and strategic location for Bangladeshi companies for their activities in this region,” he added. Commerce Minister Tofail Ahmed spoke at the inaugural session as the chief guest.Bangladesh High Commissioner in Kuala Lumpur Md Shahidul Islam, BMCCI President Md Alamgir Jalil, chairman of the Summit organising committee Syed Nurul Islam and Managing Director and CEO of The City Bank Limited Sohail RK Hussain, among others, spoke, according to a news agency.
source:EIN news desk
