The American Chamber of Commerce in Bangladesh (AmCham) held a Roundtable on “FDI Ecosystem to Boost Sustainable Economic Growth” on December 02, 2024, at the Westin Dhaka. The roundtable was supported by Excelerate Energy Bangladesh Limited. Mr. Muhammad Fouzul Kabir Khan, Honorable Advisor, Ministry of Power, Energy and Mineral Resources, graced the program as the Chief Guest, and Mr. Lutfey Siddiqi, the Honorable Chief Adviser’s Special Envoy on International Affairs, has also attended as the Special Guest.
Mr. Eric Walker, Vice President, AmCham & President, Chevron, welcomed the guests with his welcome note. He emphasized the need for continuity of policies, strong transparent institutions, simplified regulations, skilled workforce development, and ongoing financial sector reform to create an environment supporting investment, innovation, and sustainability.
Executive Committee Members Mr. Rashed Mujib Noman and Mr. Mirza Shajib Raihan attended the event along with a few AmCham members. Mr. Derek Wong, Vice President of Government Relations and Public Affairs at Excelerate Energy, Mr. Peter D. Haas, Strategic Advisor at Excelerate Energy and former U.S. Ambassador to Bangladesh and Mr. Habib Bhuiyan, Country Manager of Excelerate Energy Bangladesh Limited, attended the roundtable discussion. They highlighted Excelerate Energy’s contributions to the energy sector in Bangladesh, commended recent energy sector reform initiatives, and stressed the potential for foreign direct investment in the sector within an enhanced FDI ecosystem.
Mr. Rashed Mujib Noman, Executive Committee Member, AmCham Bangladesh, and Managing Director, Augmedix BD Limited and Mr. Chowdhury Kaiser Mohammad Riyadh, Secretary and Executive Director (Ad Interim) moderated the roundtable. In the discussion, the attendees shared their challenges and suggestions to boost the FDI ecosystem.
The speakers in the roundtable highlighted the importance of having an enabling legal framework and enforcement practices in relation to data protection and intellectual property rights to foster technology-driven investments. Embracing a unified and centrally monitored FDI strategy, strengthening Private-Public Partnerships, improving infrastructure, ensuring uninterrupted energy supply, reducing delay in profit repatriation, building frictionless and ubiquitous payment ecosystem, transforming the experience of regulatory interaction came under discussion as other critical means to attract and sustain Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) into the country.
Mr. Muhammad Fouzul Kabir Khan, Honorable Advisor, shared some ongoing and future initiatives to shape the future of energy and power sector in Bangladesh along with highlighting Bangladesh’s potential for renewable energy deployment. Mr. Lutfey Siddiqi mentioned that they are working with various ministries and regulatory bodies to develop a culture that supports foreign investment, not as regulators, but as facilitators. Both shared that the business community will soon experience an enhanced One-Stop Service (OSS) platform, where current grievances will be resolved, and they encouraged continued sharing of business challenges and suggestions to foster a more conducive environment for FDI.
High Officials from Ministry of Ministry of Power, Energy and Mineral Resources, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Commerce, Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, NBR, Bangladesh Trade and Tariff Commission, Petro Bangla, Bangladesh Bank, BIDA, Bangladesh Power Development Board and other regulatory bodies, distinguished guests from the international organizations, and renowned economists attended the roundtable.
In the end, Mr. John Fay, Commercial Counselor, U.S. Embassy Dhaka, offered the vote of thanks.
