Karachi, 6 August 2023:

President of Rice Exporters Association of Pakistan (REAP) Mr. Rahim Janoo called on the Bangladesh Deputy High Commission in Karachi S. M. Mahbubul Alam at the Chancery.

Bangladesh Deputy High Commissioner warmly welcomed the President of REAP at the Mission. Deputy High Commissioner S. M. Mahbubul Alam mentioned that Bangladesh and Pakistan have huge potential for mutually beneficial bilateral relationships. He emphasized on the exploring the areas for wider and stronger cooperation between the two countries.

Mr. Alam further highlighted that Bangladesh is the largest delta in the world with hundreds of rivers. Bangladesh is a green country which is a production powerhouse. Bangladesh is the 1^st in Jute export, 2^nd in Jute production, 3^rd in Freshwater fish production, 4^th in Rice production, 7^th in Potatoes production. Bangladesh, a country of 170 million population, is a self-sufficient country in food production.

Deputy High Commissioner elaborated on the success stories of Bangladesh and mentioned that under the charismatic and dynamic leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, Bangladesh has become a ‘Role Model’ of socio-economic development in the world. Bangladesh is currently among the five fastest growing economies in the world, ranking 35^th in terms of GDP. He further added that Bangladesh has full filled all the criteria for the graduation to developing country from the LDC status and has been confirmed to be graduated from the LDC in 2026. The present per capita income of Bangladesh is USD2824.

Deputy High Commissioner further briefed that Bangladesh has completed or has been working on many mega projects such as the Padma Bridge, which is opened on 25 June 2022. The Padma Bridge is constructed with the own finance worth over US$3.8billion. He also mentioned few other mega projects such as the Metro Rail (opened on 28 December 2022), Karnaphuli River Tunnel-the first even under the river tunnel in South Asia, Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant, Deep-Sea Port, Bangabandhu Satellite-1.

Bangladesh is 2^nd in RMG production and export. Over 12 million Bangladesh nationals live in over 180 countries and Bangladesh is 8^th in Remittance receipt amounting over US$25 billion a year. Bangladesh’s foreign currency reserve reached up to US$48billion. Total annual Exports of Bangladesh is over US$55 billion. Bangladesh has been working hard for the annual export of US$100 billion by 2030.

Bangladesh will a trillion dollar Economy and the 9^th largest consumer market in the world by 2041. Government of Bangladesh has been striving hard to implement “Vision-2041” to turn Bangladesh into an upper middle-income country by 2031 and Developed and Smart Bangladesh by 2041 and building a prosperous and climate-resilient delta by 2100.

The President REAP highly appreciated the impressive and exemplary development of Bangladesh, which is ‘Role Model’ for many developing countries. He mentioned that Bangladesh and Pakistan have lot of commonalities. He expressed his opinion that both the countries could utilize the comparative advantages in trade and commerce in all trades including agricultural produces such as rice, jute, tea, wheat, onion, fruits, fresh vegetables, industrial products and natural resources such as minerals.

Deputy High Commissioner emphasized that the potential of trade and commerce and investment in Bangladesh is huge. Items such as raw jute and jute products, tea, chemical fertilizer, garments, leather and lather products, plastic items, ceramic products, and pharmaceutical products and so forth are few of the export items. He invited Pakistani importers to import from Bangladesh.