DCCI seeks Argentine joint ventures in Bangladesh pharma industry

Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DCCI) President Ashraf Ahmed on Sunday invited Argentine companies to come to do joint ventures with Bangladeshi counterparts in the pharmaceutical and Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (API) industries.

Ashraf made the request to Argentine investors and companies to enjoy the incentives given by the Bangladesh government in this sector.

The DCCI president also requested the Argentine importers to acquire more garment products from Bangladesh along with jute, jute goods, leather and leather products, medicine and plastic products.

He made the request during a meeting with Ambassador of Argentina in Bangladesh Marcelo Carlos Sesa held at the DCCI in the capital, according to a press release.

The DCCI president also pointed out that higher tariffs while exporting goods from Bangladesh to Argentina might be re-considered by the relevant authority to boost exports in the future.

Ashraf said Bangladesh is doing very well in the IT industry, therefore, Argentina can import software and IT professionals from here.

Later, he emphasised on arranging regular B2B matchmaking meetings even in the online platform among the businessmen of both countries so that they can know each other’s market strength and demand.

Ashraf informed the ambassador that any Argentine company can avail the facility of DCCI’s commercial research on specific market or product to know the market potential.

During the meeting, Ashraf said that recently, the establishment of the permanent mission of Argentina in Bangladesh has created an opportunity to expand bilateral trade and investment between the two countries.

He said the amount of bilateral trade in FY23 was US$678.78 million while the amount of imports and exports of Bangladesh were $663.34 million and $14.55 million respectively.

Marcelo said that despite having a great potential of bilateral trade and investment, it has not reached to the desired level mainly due to the lack of communication between businessmen of the two countries.

He said Argentina can play an important role as a ‘hub’ for Bangladesh’s trade and investment in the South American region.

The ‘Marcosar’ economic alliance has been formed with four South American countries--Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay and Paraguay-- who enjoy duty-free import-export benefits among them, he mentioned.

The envoy also encouraged Bangladeshi entrepreneurs to invest in Argentina to seize this opportunity.

He requested DCCI to send a business delegation to Argentina to explore a new window of opportunity.

At the same time, the ambassador also suggested signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between Dhaka Chamber and Argentina’s leading Chambers and Associations to foster bilateral relations ahead.