The Bengal Chamber of Commerce and Industry took a business delegation to Bangladesh from 15th February to 18th February 2017. The delegation, led by Mr. Ambarish Dasgupta, Immediate Past President, BCC&I and co-led by Mr. R.N. Lahiri, Chairperson Emeritus, IT Committee of BCC&I, visited Dhaka and Chittagong. The delegation comprised of industry representatives from Bengal and Delhi.

The members of the delegation were:

• Day 1: 15th February 2017: Dhaka

• Discussion and B2B Meeting with FBCCI:

On 15th February 2017, the delegation members had B2B interaction with the members of The Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI) at Nitol Centre, Dhaka. The delegation was received by Mr. Abdul Matlub Ahmad, President, FBCCI and Chairman, Nitol-Niloy Group. Before the formal meeting, the delegation members had an informal interaction with the President of FBCCI, briefing him about their sectors of interest and their business purpose in Bangladesh. The Formal B2B meeting was also presided by Mr. Ahmad. The Bengal Chamber Delegation Co-lead Mr. R. N. Lahiri, delivered the opening remarks. In his remarks, he mentioned about the close cultural and demographic similarities that the two countries share and requested the delegate members for their self-introduction and also requested his colleagues to highlight their objective for the trip. Mr. Abdul Matlub Ahmed, President, FBCCI also spoke in details about the opportunities available in the Sectors that the BCC&I Delegates represented, and arranged for B2B connects for some of the delegates for the next day. In his closing remarks, the FBCCI President thanked the Bengal Chamber secretariat for bringing such a dynamic and scholarly delegation to Bangladesh which had resulted in an erudite discussion. He invited the Bengal Chamber to join the BBIN forum and SME fair (both to be held in April) for which formal invitations will follow. The Bengal Chamber also requested FBCCI to take a formal delegation to West Bengal anytime soon. Mr. Sishir Kothari, Second Secretary Commercial, Indian High Commission in Dhaka also attended the session at the later stages, which was followed by dinner.

• Day 2: 16th February 2017: Dhaka

• Participation in the Inauguration of the Indo-Bangla Trade fair:

The Bengal Chamber delegation members participated in the inauguration session of the Indo-Bangla Trade Fair, organized by the India-Bangladesh Chamber of Commerce and Industry and Indian High Commission, at 10 a.m. at Pan Pacific SonarGaon Hotel, Dhaka. This was the fourth Indo-Bangla Trade Fair which was inaugurated by the Chief Guest Janab Tofail Ahmed, Hon’ble Minister, Ministry of Commerce, Government of Bangladesh. More than 60 companies representing the sectors of automobiles, processed food, banking, insurance, home appliances, consumer goods, power, paints, electronics and electrical, textiles, cement manufacturing, and lubricants manufacturing exhibited their product lines in the Trade Fair. Shri Harsh Vardhan Shringla , High Commissioner of India, Dhaka; Mr. Abdul Matlub Ahmad, President, FBCCI and Chairman, Nitol-Niloy Group and Mr. Taskeen Ahmed, President, India-Bangladesh Chamber of Commerce and Industry were the special guests of this prestigious programme. Mr. Jahangir Bin Alam, Secretary and CEO, India-Bangladesh Chamber of Commerce and Industry commenced the session. He said that this Fair was “a landmark event” for the bilateral business relationship between Bangladesh, India and other neighbouring countries. Mr. Taskeen Ahmed, President, India-Bangladesh Chamber of Commerce and Industry delivered the opening remarks. Mr. Pankaj Tandon, leader of CII Delegation and Mr. R.N. Lahiri, leader of BCC&I Delegation delivered their respective speeches. Subsequently, The Hon’ble Chief Guest Janab Tofail Ahmed addressed the audience. He said that the objective of this Fair was to bring Bangladesh and India together and to strengthen the bilateral business relationship between these two neighbouring countries. Bangladesh had imported many items from India for domestic industries. Bangladesh and India’s two-way trade was $6.14 billion in 2015-16, though heavily tilted towards India. But in the last two years, Bangladesh’s exports to India had seen a huge increase after India allowed duty-fee market access in 2015-16. Bangladesh exports to India surged 30.8 percent to $689.62 million and Indian exports declined by 6.3 percent. Shri Harsh Vardhan Shringla , High Commissioner of India, Dhaka said that this Trade Fair had opened a new era of corporate relationship between Bangladesh and India, and that he was looking forward to having more interactions and exchange . He also said that companies from both India and Bangladesh were exploring “new opportunities” for investing and setting up joint ventures in each other’s country. It was a multiproduct Fair with the objective to develop business activities between the two neighbouring countries. Mr. Abhijt Chakravorty, Country Head Bangladesh, State Bank of India addressed the audience. SBI, the largest bank of India, was the Sponsor of this Trade Fair. Mr. Abdul Matlub Ahmad, President, FBCCI and Chairman, Nitol-Niloy Group delivered the formal vote of thanks. The trade fair was well covered in Bangladesh media and The BCC&I delegation found prominent a mention there.

• Meeting with Shri Harsh Vardhan Shringla , High Commissioner of India, Dhaka:

The delegation members from BCC&I, had an interaction with Shri Harsh Vardhan Shringla, High Commissioner of India, Dhaka at Pan Pacific SonarGaon Hotel at 10:30 a.m on the sidelines of the Trade Fair. At the outset, the delegates introduced themselves, briefing the High Commissioner about their sector of interest and purpose of visit to Bangladesh. The highlights of Shri Shringla’s discourse are as follows:

• The marketing field in Bangladesh should be focused seriously

• More investments were required to develop the Chittagong port

• There would be railway connectivity between Mongla and Khulna Sea port to enrich the opportunities for export and import from both the countries

• Funding entirely for the development of Ashuganj port

• Speaking on the occasion, Shri Shringla stressed upon the fact that more and more bilateral interaction and cooperation was needed between Bangladesh and India to strengthen the bilateral business relationships between the two neighbouring nations.

• Meeting with Dr. A F M Manzur Kadir, Director General, Bangladesh Export Promotion Bureau:

The members of BCC&I Delegation split in two groups- one group stayed back at the Hotel Pan Pacific Sonargaon for an audience with the High Commissioner and the other group went to meet Dr. A F M Manzur Kadir, Director General, and other members of Bangladesh Export Promotion Bureau at 11 a.m.

The members of the delegation introduced themselves which was followed by an interactive presentation between the members of the delegation and the Export Promotion Bureau officials. Bangladesh Export Promotion Bureau, Dhaka, is a National export Promotion Agency under the Ministry of Commerce, which was recognized by the promulgation of a Presidential Ordinance in 1977 as a semi-autonomous body. The ordinance had been converted into an ACT on 14th July, 2015. EPB promotes export and contributes to plan & policies helpful for the private sector. It is administrated by a Board of Management (BOM) comprising 15 (fifteen) members from both public and private sectors. The Hon’ble Minister of Commerce is the ex-officio Chairman of the Board of Management, and Vice-Chairman is the Chief Executive of the Export Promotion Bureau. EPB is functioning with its head office in Dhaka while three regional offices are located in Chittagong. Rajshahi and Khulna and three branch offices are in Comilla, Sylet and Narayangonj. EPB is mainly responsible for

• Adoption of appropriate policy and programme measures for active promotion of export.

• Co-ordination of export development activities at various levels.

• Co-ordination and monitoring of national export performance.

• Carrying out of promotional activities in product & supply development.

• Exploration of markets abroad.

• Collection and dissemination of trade information.

• Organizing Bangladesh participation in the International trade fairs abroad.

• Imparting training for HRD on export related issues.

• Conducting study, surveys, research etc on product development.

• Issuance of various certificates against export of goods.

• EPB also assists Ministry of Commerce in formulating export policy of the country.

• Meeting with Janab Tofail Ahmed, Hon’ble Minster of Commerce, Government of Bangladesh:

BCC&I Delegation had a meeting with the Hon’ble Commerce Minister of Bangladesh at 12:30 p.m. at his office in the Bangladesh Secretariat. At the outset, he mentioned about his past visit to Bengal and The Bengal Chamber a few years back on the occasion of the Chamber’s annual India International Mega Trade Fair organized in partnership with GS Marketing Associates and subsequently spoke about bilateral trade related figures which is deep and is growing each day. He mentioned that over the years Bangladesh had been importing cotton and threads from India. The Hon’ble Minister highlighted the Government of India’s anti-dumping duty and Minimum Input Price (MIP) on jute products imported from Bangladesh and Nepal. Janab Ahmed also apprised the delegates about the Tariff barrier removal request to the Indian Government that the Bangladesh Government had placed. He assured the Delegation members who were looking for business opportunities in Bangladesh that 100 SEZs were coming up in Bangladesh out of which 3 would be dedicated for Indian businesses. The leader of the delegation, Mr. Ambarish Dasgupta mentioned that West Bengal had all kinds of similarities with Bangladesh and the objective of bringing such a delegation was to strengthen the existing bilateral relationship between the two countries. Mr. Dasgupta requested the delegation members for their respective self-introductions, which they did and alongside also mentioned about the rationale of their visit. While providing response to the queries of this Multi Sectoral Delegation, The Hon’ble Minister mentioned the Priority Areas for Bangladesh, of which Information Technology was one and informed the delegation that “Digital Bangladesh” was a key focus area. Lots of IT parks were coming up and a realistic output target of USD 1 billion by 2018 and USD 5 billion by 2021 had been set. The other priority areas mentioned by him were Shipping (which provides 10% cash incentive); Leather, for which the target earning was USD 3-4 billion by 2021; Food processing (which offers 20% cash incentive); Jute, which had been a traditional and major exporting item to India (although the recent anti-dumping duty had acted as a dampener); Plastics; Agro Products, etc. Bangladesh was the 4th largest fish producing country in the world and there was a specific focus on the Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal (BBIN) Initiative.

• Meeting with Janab Nasrul Hamid, Hon’ble State Minister, Power Division, Ministry of Power, Energy and Mineral Resources:

Some of the members of BCC&I Delegation had a meeting with the Hon’ble Power Minister and key officials of the Power Department at 2:00 p.m. in the Bangladesh Secretariat. The delegation members discussed possibilities of the Indian Private Sector companies making a penetration into the Power sector of Bangladesh – be it in generation or distribution of electricity in Bangladesh. The Hon’ble Minister also pointed out that Bangladesh currently was sourcing some of its power requirements from some Indian States. The Delegation members representing the power sector had a very fruitful meeting with the Power Minister focusing on 3 key initiatives:

• Long term power supply agreement (with a power plant at Haldia)

• Smart metering at Bangladesh distribution companies and

• Investment in solar or wind power business.

For Long term PPA, the Bangladesh Power Ministry requested to check on the Indian side as there were some regulatory clearances that were required prior to any project that maybe undertaken on that front.

• B2B Meetings at the sidelines of the Indo-Bangla Trade Fair :

• Meeting with Mr. Sabur Khan, Chairman, Daffodil University:

Mr. Dibya Sankar Das, Managing Partner, Delstar Overseas, Mr. Rafiqul Hasan, Chairman-cum-Managing Director with Mr. Syed A Nabi, Director, Techno Industry and Mr. Rabindranath Lahiri, Director and Vice Chairman, Techno India Batanagar with The Bengal Chamber Secretariat had a meeting with Mr. Sabur Khan, Chairman of Daffodil University at 4 p.m. at Pan Pacific SonarGaon Hotel. The focus sectors of this meeting were IT, Skill Development, Engineering, Instrumentation and Automation. Mr. Sabur Khan said that the education system in Bangladesh required further development. The students, after completing their education, did not get better job opportunities due to the lack of skillsets. The Skill Development scheme must be included in the education system to enable the students getting better opportunities in life. In Bangladesh, the engineering streams are, Computer Science, Electrical, Civil, Mechanical, Textile and Telecommunication Engineering. But Instrumentation and Automation engineering are required nowadays for proper training of instrumentation to the students and to enable them in getting better employable opportunities in industries. Mr. Khan said that the Bangladesh Government had decided to include the employability skills or soft skills course in the education system, as soft skills are considered as the key to workplace success. An IT Show would be held in Dhaka from 23rd to 25th March 2017. Mr. Khan requested Mr R N Lahiri and Mr Dibya Sankar Das to give a PowerPoint Presentation on Education & Skill Development and Instrumentation Course (Graduation and Diploma Course) respectively in that IT Show. Mr. Khan also requested Mr. Lahiri and Mr. Das to exchange their documents with him through email before the IT Show.

• Meeting with Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce and Industry:

The members of The Bengal Chamber Delegation had a meeting with Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MCCI) at 6 p.m. at BRAC EPL Stock Brokerage Office, Symphony, 3rd Floor, Road 142, Gulshan Avenue, Dhaka. The meeting was presided by Ms. Nihad Kabir, President of MCCI. The delegates introduced themselves briefing their sector of interest and business purpose in Bangladesh. While responding, Ms Kabir apprised that Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce is one of the oldest Chambers of Commerce in Bangladesh. It is an organization of manufacturers and from the services sectors (Banking and NBFCs). 90% of their members are big players/big investors. They are mostly into policy formulation, policy analysis, lobbying etc. It was also informed that Dr. APJ Adul Kalam visited the Chamber’s 110th anniversary. MCCI Secretary General mentioned that the country’s macro economy was stable, macro indicators healthy with a GDP growth of 6.5% alongside a very vibrant private sector. The social indicators were also healthy. They also informed that the country’s manufacturing standard was going through an upgradation with a booming IT sector. Skill development had a very bright opportunity. The alternative to the traffic situation in Petrapole and Benapole were barge services which needed a facelift. Pangaon port was at present a one-way traffic and economic feasibility of ocean going vessels to and fro Pangaon port needed to be looked into. Bengal was a good gateway for Bangladesh and hence talking a good talk was also to be followed by walking a good walk by the two countries. Ms. Kabir requested the delegates to share their business sectors through email for proper B2B facilitation going forward. The Delegation Leader, Mr. Ambarish Dasgupta invited the Metropolitan Chamber to The Bengal Chamber.

• Day 3: 17th February 2017: Dhaka

• Visit to Inauguration of ICT Pangaon :

Capt. S B Mazumder, Chairman, Shipping Committee, The Bengal Chamber, with his colleague, Mr. Arup Bandhu Guha visited Pangaon Port upon invitation from the Ministry of Shipping, to be a part of the Inauguration of the International Container Terminal at Pangaon accompanied by Ms. Binti Jahan, an official from the BBIN desk of FBCCI. Those present in the Inaugural Ceremony of ICT Pangaon:

- Minister of Shipping, Govt. of Bangladesh

- Janab Tofail Ahmed, Hon’ble Minister of Commerce, Govt. of Bangladesh

- Secretary, Ministry of Shipping, Govt. of Bangladesh

- Indian Ambassador to Bangladesh

- Chairman, Chittagong Port Authority

- Terminal Manager, Chittagong Port Authority

- Commissioner of Customs, ICT Pangaon

- Terminal Manager, ICT Pangaon

- Abdul Matlub Ahmad, President, FBCCI - Mehboob Alam, Owner of the Coastal Vessel on berth, M.V.Nou Kolan

- Several Shipping Agents
- Freight Forwarders & Clearing Agents
- Exim Trade Representatives
- Vizag Container Terminal, Business Dev. Manager
- Haldia Container Terminal, Business Dev. Manager

The ICT Pangaon is owned and built by Chittagong Port Authority. The construction was completed in 2013 and formally inaugurated by the Prime Minister H.E. Sheikh Hasina on 7th November 2013. In the first voyage, the Coastal Vessel M.V. NOU KOLAN from Kolkata had arrived with 65 units of Import Cargo from Kolkata. After the inaugural speeches of the Ministers and other officials ‘at the jetty front’, the off-loading of the import loaded containers on the M.V. NOU KOLAN Vessel from Kolkata commenced. All the Ministers and Government Officials spoke on similar lines that the Government has incurred a large expenditure building the ICT Terminal and requested the Exim Trade, especially Importers and Exporters situated in and around Dhaka area, to support the ICT by using the facilities. They advised that purpose of the ICT was to reduce part of the road traffic between Chittagong Port and Dhaka, by IWT Barges undertaking a regular service between Chittagong Port and ICT Pangaon.

• Day 4: 18th February 2017: Chittagong:

• Visit to Chittagong Port and meeting with key Port Officials:

Representatives of the Shipping sector, who were part of the Bengal Chamber delegation, visited Chittagong Port at 9.00 am on 18th February 2017. They had a drive through Chittagong port and then a detailed meeting with the Terminal Manager Mr. Golam Md. Sarwarul Islam and Assistant Terminal Manager. The key highlights of the Port visit and subsequent discussions were:

- Chittagong is a Riverine Port on the Karnaphuli River and open to Tides.

- There are only 19 berths in the Port of which 13 are reserved for Container vessels.

- Only 2 of the 13 container berths have shore crane facilities and so most container vessels calling on Chittagong have to be self-geared vessels.

- The rise of tide is 1.5 – 2 mtrs and so ships at berth are subjected to the rise and fall of tides, in view of the Port not having Lock Gates.

- The throughput of the containers is 2.35 million Teus per annum.

- The annual increase in container throughput is high at 15-16%.

- The port has a yard capacity of 36357 Teus at any given time.

- 40% of the Imports are destuffed in Port and balance 60% is moved out to the off dock CFS.

- Container shipping being the lifeline of the port, there is generally berth congestion of average 1-2 days and at times much higher.

• B2B Meeting with The Chittagong Chamber of Commerce and Industry :

The members of The Bengal Chamber Delegation had a B2B Interaction with The Chittagong Chamber of Commerce and Industry at 11 a.m. on 18th February 2017 at WTC Building, Chittagong. At the onset of the meeting, there was a self-introduction of the delegates, followed by a video presentation by The Chittagong Chamber of Commerce and Industry showcasing the strategic location of Chittagong, its natural fundamental advantages and its unique biodiversity. A similar video presentation of BCC&I showcasing West Bengal followed.

Mr. Md. Nurun Newaz, Senior Vice President of CCCI delivered the formal Welcome Address. He mentioned India and Bangladesh have huge potentials in bilateral trade. Local markets called Border Haats have been opened to facilitate trade between small scale industries and farmers to generate market opportunities for them. Cost of doing trade is high between Bangladesh and India mainly due to lack of trade facilitation on both sides. Almost all border crossings lack modern infrastructure. Other non-tariff barriers like regulatory measures and lack of trade services have affected the bilateral trade. The Chittagong Chamber, through BCC&I, would like to request the Indian Government to accept BSTI (Bangladesh Standards and Testing Institution) certification in case of export. Joint measures should be taken to remove other barriers so that both the countries could be benefitted. The delegation comprising consultancy, education, engineering, finance, health, IT, tourism, shipping, skilled development, logistics and transportation exchanged views with their Bangladesh counterparts to share knowledge and extend cooperation for mutual benefit. Mr. Somnath Halder, Assistant High Commissioner of India, Dhaka was present and while addressing the audience, he mentioned that Bangladesh and India share a historic relationship. Both the Governments need to work together closely to enhance the relationships and bilateral trade between the two countries. He also said that India could participate in the development of the Chittagong Port. Infrastructure development and more investments were needed to improve the tourism industry in Bangladesh. Development of Infrastructure sector had become a primary necessity in Bangladesh. Bangladesh was also trying to develop the two economic zones Mongla and Anwara. There was a great opportunity to develop healthcare in Bangladesh. Mr R.N Lahiri, Co-leader of the Delegation delivered his speech. He focused especially on Education and Skill Development and the Media Sector. Dr. Alam, Immediate Past President of CCCI, representing the Health Sector in Bangladesh, said that more investments were needed to develop the health sector in Bangladesh. Advance training should be given to the people of HR from the Health Sector. Dr. Mahmud Hasan, representing the tourism sector in Bangladesh said that development of infrastructure and the medical sector was needed to improve tourism opportunities.

India and Bangladesh enjoy a very deep-rooted bilateral relation based on mutual trust and cooperation. The two countries are closely cooperating in the fields of trade, investment, sharing of skill and transfer of technology, education, training and through people-to-people contact. There has been exchange of high-level visits between the two countries that have helped develop mutual understanding. The two countries have signed a number of agreements to institutionalize the bilateral relations. India is now investing more and more in Bangladesh in infrastructure development. This is very good news for the business community of both the countries. Both nations can become complementary to each other and be benefitted.