Terming the readymade garment (RMG) industry as the most success story of Bangladesh, Spanish Ambassador in Dhaka Francisco de Asís Benítez Salas said that Spain, as single country, is the fourth largest customer of Bangladesh today.
He said this while speaking at the orientation ceremony of the new members and executive committee members of the Spain Bangladesh Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SBCCI) at city hotel on Tuesday.
Bangladesh exported goods worth US$ 3,166,370,397.84 to Spain in 2021 as against US$ 2,343,988,443.37 in 2020 registering 35 per cent growth in exports, according to the Export Promotion Bureau of Bangladesh.
Spain, as a single, is today the fourth largest customer of Bangladesh, where the biggest number of environmentally textile factories are located. Out commercial and trade relations are concentrated in the RMG sector, which is working well”, he said.
As a single country, Spain is the fourth largest customer of Bangladesh, with imports worth almost three billion euro a year.
“Our commercial relations are concentrated mainly in the RMG sector and that is working very well. However, our yearly exports to Bangladesh are still quite low, barely reaching 200 million euro, he said.
Francisco Benítez also said that Spain has offered Bangladesh to develop the tourism sector of the South Asian country as the EU country has vast success in the sector.
Tourism is the biggest industry in Spain, sharing 11 per cent of its GDP. In 2018, tourist arrivals in Spain reached 82.8 million (+1.1% compared to 2017), generating EUR 89.8 billion in international receipts (+3.3% compared to 2017). Travel exports represented 52.3% of total service exports in 2018.
In the energy sector, we have some examples of Spanish companies carrying out projects in Bangladesh. Técnicas Reunidas (TR), for instance, is one of them. A big company with an extensive international record, they built, with TSK (another Spanish company), two power plants in Ashuganj, in 2014-2017. Now, TR is working on another project in Chittagong.
Técnica y Proyectos, SA (TYPSA) is another important Spanish company with a very successful record of activities in Bangladesh, having been awarded important infrastructure projects by the government.
Spain Bangladesh Chamber Of Commerce And Industry (SBCCI) Ashik Elahi Chowdhury and Commercial Attaché of Spain embassy Francisco Javier Yapes also spoke on the occasion.
