Desk Report: The 11th Annual General Meeting of Switzerland Bangladesh Chamber of Commerce & Industry (SBCCI) was held on 22nd October 2022, at Radisson Blu Dhaka Water Garden, Dhaka.
The meeting commenced with Dr. Afroz Jalil welcoming Honorable Swiss Ambassador to Bangladesh H. E. Ms. Nathalie Chuard and all the members of SBCCI. Dr. Jalil shed light on the present critical global economic situation. As we are in a post-pandemic period and the Russia-Ukraine war is in place, we need to show our indomitable character, expressed by Dr. Jalil. He also expressed his commitment to maintaining the chamber’s vigorous efforts to speed up bilateral trade between Switzerland and Bangladesh.
Following the president’s welcome remarks, SBCCI’s advisor Mr. Naquib Khan lauded the organization’s amazing initiatives. Mr. Khan recalled the 50th anniversary of Bangladesh and Switzerland’s diplomatic relations. He expressed optimism that bilateral trade will increase in the near future despite all the barriers and difficulties on the international stage.
The Chief Guest, Honorable Swiss Ambassador expressed her best wishes to SBCCI and shared her experience about Bangladesh, potential business opportunities etc. “𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐬𝐢𝐠𝐧𝐢𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐛𝐨𝐭𝐡 𝐒𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐳𝐞𝐫𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐁𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐥𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐡. 𝐖𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐜𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐛𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝟓𝟎𝐭𝐡 𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐥 𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐥 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐝𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭-𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞 𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐩𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐲𝐦𝐛𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐜 $𝟏 𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐝,” said Ambassador Chuard, at the meeting in her capacity as SBCCI’s Chief Advisor. Terming SBCCI as a member of “ᴛᴇᴀᴍ Sᴡɪᴛᴢᴇʀʟᴀɴᴅ” in Bangladesh, she also mentioned that together much more can be done to strengthen the bilateral economic ties and address questions related to the business climate.
After the Ambassador’s remarks, the chamber’s annual operations were presented by Mr. Saad Omar Fahim, Secretary General. He also spoke about the chamber’s future plans. Later, Mr. Saad introduced the new Executive Committee and chamber members for the term 2022–2024.
Dr. Mohammad Afroz Jalil, Country Manager of Roche Bangladesh Ltd. has been elected as the President for the term 2022-2024 and Saad Omar Fahim, Director of Clarichem Limited has been elected as the Secretary-General. Mr. Tarun Patwary, Country Manager of Kuehne + Nagel has been elected as the Treasurer.
Vice President from the investor group is Mr. Abdur Rashid (Country Manager of SGS Bangladesh Ltd.), and Vice President from the agent group is Ms. Vidiya Amrit Khan (Director of Tutelar Oil Services Co. Pvt. Ltd.).
The rest of the EC members are Mr. Abdul Matin Chowdhury (MD of New Asia Ltd.), Mr. Debabrata Roy Chowdhury (Director – Legal, RSA, Corporate Affairs and Company Secretary at Nestlé Bangladesh Limited), Mr. Julian A. Weber (CEO, Secure Link Services BD Ltd), Mr. Iqbal Chowdhury (CFO – LafargeHolcim Bangladesh Ltd.), Mr. Hedayet Ullah (Managing Director, Syngenta Bangladesh Limited), Mr. Saiful Islam (Chairman & M.D – Daffodil Trading Ltd), Mr. Mohammad Abul Hasnat (CEO – Hasnat Enterprise & Swiss Elegance), Mr. Sontosh Chandra Nath (MD & CEO- Alpha Vision Limited)
Ms. Vidiya Amrit Khan as the Treasurer presented the audited financial report for the years 2020 and 2021 after the announcement of a new EC committee.
The meeting ended with a vote of thanks by the Managing Director of New Asia Limited, Mr. Abdul Matin Chowdhury.
