Bangladesh in efforts to promote trade with Southern Africa

The exhibition featured jute, ceramic, textiles, leather, food products and handicrafts from Bangladesh.Leading South African business federations, including Business Unity South Africa BUSA and the Black Business Council of South Africa joined South African government officials and some local captains of industry at the event.Alam, who is on a week-long visit, detailed some of the emergent industrial sectors in Bangladesh which offered opportunities for South African businesses and investors.Bangladesh has been identified by South Africa as a country with enormous potential for the expansion of trade and economic relations.

Bangladeshi State Minister for Foreign Affairs Shahriar Alam is leading a delegation to South Africa to improve trade and other relations between the two countries and its neighbouring states of Eswatini and Botswana.

On Friday, Alam inaugurated an exhibition titled 'Made in Bangladesh' in Pretoria. The exhibition featured jute, ceramic, textiles, leather, food products and handicrafts from Bangladesh.

Leading South African business federations, including Business Unity South Africa (BUSA) and the Black Business Council of South Africa joined South African government officials and some local captains of industry at the event.

Alam, who is on a week-long visit, detailed some of the emergent industrial sectors in Bangladesh which offered opportunities for South African businesses and investors.

Bangladesh has been identified by South Africa as a country with enormous potential for the expansion of trade and economic relations. Since 1994, bilateral trade between the two countries grew significantly from just Rand 28 million to approximately Rand 5.2 billion by 2021 before the advent of the Covid pandemic brought this down.

South African exports amount to Bangladesh are more than Rand 3.4 billion and South Africa enjoys a trade surplus of Rand 1.6 billion.

South Africa's main export items to Bangladesh include citrus fruit, mineral products, chemicals, iron and steel products and pharmaceuticals. The primary imports from Bangladesh include clothing, textiles, leather and leather products, footwear, chemicals and machinery.

The Black Business Council suggested that Bangladesh import various goods from South Africa given the large and growing consumer market of Bangladesh, but that there were also opportunities for Bangladesh to export to the other countries of the southern African region through South Africa.

Before the exhibition, Alam held a meeting with BUSA at their office in Johannesburg, where he called for joint efforts to realise the trade and business opportunities between Bangladesh and South Africa. He mentioned the economic strength of both countries, especially in the export sectors.

The BUSA delegation suggested holding mutual discussions to identify potential sectors of trade and Investment.

The state minister invited the South African dignitaries and chambers to join the 50th-anniversary programmes of the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry in March 2023 in Dhaka.

At a meeting with South African Deputy Minister of International Relations Candith Mashego Dlamini, Alam discussed ways to pursue bilateral cooperation in defence, agriculture, law enforcement, transport and higher education and to expand private sector business-to-business engagements in support of trade and investment promotion.

South Africa established diplomatic relations with Bangladesh in September 1994, after Nelson Mandela became the country's first democratically-elected President following decades of white minority apartheid rule. The opening of the High Commission of Bangladesh in Pretoria followed soon after.

South Africa is non-residentially accredited to Bangladesh through the South African High Commission in New Delhi, India.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Clayson Monyela said Bangladesh and South Africa share common views on a range of global issues, and South Africa regards Bangladesh as an important partner in the advancement of the development agenda of countries of the South. South Africa and Bangladesh share membership of the G77+China, the Commonwealth, the Non-Aligned Movement and the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA). Bangladesh is the current Chair of IORA.

Alam will also be having official meetings with senior government officials as well as chambers of commerce and business entities in Eswatini and Botswana.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)