Bangladesh has huge potential in the blue economy and the country should work jointly with Sri Lanka for the development of the sector, Sri Lankan High Commissioner to Dhaka Sudharshan DS Seneviratne said today.

The signing of the preferential trade agreement (PTA) with Bangladesh is in progress and the two governments will soon be able to sign it, he said.

If the PTA performs well, then initiative can be taken to sign a free trade agreement in future, he added.

Seneviratne made the comments when he called on Rizwan Rahman, president of the Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry, at the DCCI Gulshan Centre in Dhaka.

In the meeting, the high commissioner also expressed his hope to increase the bilateral trade volume to $1 billion in next five years.

He also invited Bangladeshi investors to invest in tourism, agriculture, shipping and logistics sectors in Sri Lanka.

The manufacturing and service sectors of Bangladesh have high potential for the foreign investors as well as the Sri Lankan entrepreneurs, the Dhaka chamber president said.

He mentioned that the bilateral trade between Bangladesh and Sri Lanka reached $165.04 million in 2020-21 fiscal year, where Bangladesh's export and import was $47.32 million and $117.72 million respectively.

Rahman said Bangladesh mainly exports pharmaceuticals, garments and seeds and import machinery, textiles, chemical, mineral products, base metal form Sri Lanka.

To utilise the untapped trade and investment potential, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka can sign FTA and collaborate in the fields of ICT, outsourcing, tourism and engineering solutions, he opined.

Sri Lanka also can be an attractive destination for Bangladeshi investors, Rahman said.

Star Business (2022, April 5). Sri Lanka wants to work jointly for development of blue economy: envoy. The Daily Star. https://www.thedailystar.net/business/news/lankan-envoy-wants-work-jointly-development-blue-economy-2998611