Business community urged to bring pol parties across table:Butenis

Dhaka, Sep 15 (UNI) US Ambassador in Dhaka Patricia A Butenis urged the country's business community to initiate a move to bring political parties across the table to remove all uncertainties about the upcoming general election.

''The business community should play a leading and constructive role to bridge the gap between the political parties on the election issue,'' she said while addressing as chief guest at the inauguration of the newly launched International Business Forum of Bangladesh (IBFB), yesterday.

The organisers of the IBFB termed their new business forum as a non-profit, non-partisan organisation of Bangladeshi and foreign business owners and executives.

They said the new business forum would make its efforts to identify common challenges and advocate for change in the pubic policy for strengthening the business environment in the country.

The US Ambassador also urged the business people to focus on short-term business related problems rather than long-term ones like corruption and hartal.

Welcoming the initiative for launching the IBFB, she said this new body should act to complement the existing business bodies of Bangladesh.

Ms Butenis said 30 members of an active business club is better than a delegation of 300 members with an active leader.

Head of the Delegation of European Commission in Bangladesh, Dr Stefan Frowein suggested that Bangladesh should diversify its export basket to sustain in the global trade competition.

He also advised the business community to meet the social compliance in the export business.

Eminent economist Prof Wahiduddin Mahmud said there should be a national consensus as to what type of foreign investment the country should welcome. Because, he said, foreign investment sometimes could be against the interest of the nation.

''There are instances of foreign investment which became the means of exploitation,'' he said.

Prof Mahmud, however, said foreign investment has positive history as well. Many countries have been benefited by the foreign investments, he added.

IBFB president Mahmudul Islam Chowdhury said the new business body would be the ''proper and appropriate forum and centre of all business community of whole nation.'' He said the business community in Bangladesh has rich potential to play a vital and important role in strengthening the country and its economy.

IBFB vice president ATM Saidul Alam and treasurer Tanveer Imam also spoke at the function.

AC Nielsen Bangladesh manager Samina Afrin made a presentation on a 'Business Development Survey 2006' on Bangladesh business scenario.

UNI XC SHB DS1042