The Minister-Counselor, Head of Economic and Commercial Office of Romania Ionut Viziru, on Wednesday said that there could be partnerships between Bangladesh and Romania in the sectors like renewable energy, power, IT, roads and highway, dairy etc.
He expressed the views in a meeting with the leaders of Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce as the Minister Counselor-Head of Economic and Commercial Office of Romania visited the Gulshan office of Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MCCI), Dhaka on Wednesday.
Rubaiyat Jamil, a Director of MCCI along with Messrs. Masud Khan (Deputy Managing Director), Mir Shamayal Hassan (Director Marketing), M. Fakhruzzaman (Head of Logistics) and Biprajit Kumar Sharma (DGM- Logistics) of Cosmos Group among the visiting members was present during the meeting.
The MCCI team led by its President discussed with the Minister Counselor the ways to increase trade and investment between the two countries and other issues of mutual interest. Both parties agreed to support and work together in that regard.
During the discussion, the Minister-Counselor informed that Romania is going to hire hundred thousand skilled and semi-skilled workers from abroad.
In this context, the President requested them to hire at least 20% of the aforementioned workers from Bangladesh.
The Minister-Counselor shared that a temporary consulate was opened in Bangladesh to facilitate hiring workers. A camp office could also be opened in this regard if required to expedite the visa and others. The MCCI team appreciated the initiative.
The MCCI President spoke about the importance of utilizing the bilateral investment treaty (BIT) between Bangladesh and Romania. He also urged the delegation to invest in the Economic Processing Zones (EPZs) in Bangladesh.
The MCCI President requested the Minister-Counselor to initiate joint ventures with Bangladesh to revive the Romanian shipbuilding industry.
He also urged them to work together with Bangladesh on processing of halal beef. He then stated that there were many types of machinery in Romania particularly generator that could be overhauled in Bangladesh and then re-exported. Bangladesh could also outsource automobile components.
He further suggested that as one of the largest exporters of wheat, Romania could contact the policymakers of Bangladesh so that the food security could be addressed.
The MCCI President then pointed out to export products from some sectors along with RMG sector such as food processing, pharmaceuticals, and leather goods etc., to Romania for export diversification. Moreover, Romanian investment would be appreciated in IT, automobile industry, light engineering and agricultural sectors in Bangladesh for technical collaboration and efficiency improvement.
He further opined that taking advantage of the definition of rules of origin could be of mutual benefit. He further requested the Minister Counselor to allow Bangladeshi companies to set up warehouses in Romania.
The MCCI President then requested the Minister Counselor for support from Romania for Bangladesh at the European Council to extend the preferential treatment under the EBA without arms for a reasonable period after the LDC graduation.