English

Belarus invites Bangladesh to carry out several joint projects

The Belarusian delegation that stayed in Bangladesh between November 11 and 13 put forward a number of joint investment projects.

Prime Minister Mikhail Myasnikovich, who led the delegation, met with Bangladeshi President Zillur Rahman to discuss the prospects of bilateral cooperation and the possibility of carrying out joint projects in different sectors of the economy, according to the Council of Ministers press office.

Mr. Myasnikovich said that Belarus was interested to develop mutually beneficial trade, economic and investment cooperation with Bangladesh.

During a Belarusian-Bangladeshi business forum, Mr. Myasnikovich invited Bangladeshi companies to carry out projects in truck and tractor building, agriculture, the food industry, the high-tech sector and scientific research.

"A major Belarusian trading operator can establish a joint enterprise in your country to lend to buyers who want to purchase Belarusian equipment and goods," Mr. Myasnikovich said. "This would be cheap resources consistent with the Islamic banking model."

Belarus is interested to cooperate with Bangladesh in agriculture, the industrial sector, the scientific-technical sphere and education, he said. In an unprecedented move, the Belarusian government has allowed Bangladeshi companies to export a broad range of goods to Belarus free of customs duty, Mr. Myasnikovich said. He asked the Bangladeshi government to allow Belarusian exporters to bring their goods into Bangladesh on more favorable terms, considering that the rather high level of tariff protection in the country.

Mr. Myasnikovich said that there was a large potential for increasing the export of Belarusian potash to Bangladesh. "We're ready to fully supply your country with potash," he said.

While speaking at the University of Dhaka, Mr. Myasnikovich said that Belarus was ready to cooperate with Bangladesh in the fields of nuclear power generation and space exploration.

Nuclear energy is one of the promising areas considering the fact that a nuclear power plant has recently started being built in Belarus, he noted. "We know that Bangladesh is starting the construction of a nuclear power plant similar to the one in Belarus," he said. "We are ready to actively cooperate with your experts in this regard and provide support to them."

Another promising area for cooperation is space exploration, Mr. Myasnikovich noted.

He noted opportunities for Bangladeshi experts and businesspeople in the Belarusian pharmaceutical market and invited Bangladeshi business circles to cooperate with Belarus' High-Tech Park.

Mr. Myasnikovich played up the prospects for cooperation between the two countries, describing Belarus as a direct road to Europe for Bangladesh. //BelaPAN