Brunei’s Finance Minister Dr Awang Haji Mohd Amin Abdullah has called for using the seaport of his country as a transshipment hub. He said this while in a meeting with Commerce Minister Tipu Munshi in Dhaka.
Dr Amin informed that Brunei port is nearer to China, and therefore using the port as a transhipment hub would save time and money for Bangladeshi businesses.
The Commerce Minister urged energy-rich Brunei to invest in Bangladesh taking advantage of facilities that the country offers for the foreign investors. ‘Bangladesh can be the right place for investment. My request will be to invest in Bangladesh,’ he noted.
The commerce minister also mentioned countries like India and China where Bangladesh has the opportunity to export whatever it wants apart from its own market of 170 million people. He also urged the Brunei finance minister to remove the discriminatory rule for Bangladeshi immigrant workers who have to deposit $1600 while the amount is only $500 for Malaysian workers.
State Minister for Foreign Affairs Md Shahriar Alam also spoke at the meeting chaired by President of the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI) Md Jashim Uddin.
A memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed between ZES Trading and Ghanim International Corporation to introduce Halal food from Brunei in the Bangladeshi market. Dr Nur Rahman from Ghanim International and FBCCI director Dr Kazi Ertaza Hassan, CIP signed the MoU on behalf of their organisations.
