Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DCCI) urged the South Korea to hire more skilled human resources from Bangladesh.
The chamber made the call while the South Korean Ambassador to Bangladesh PARK Young Sik paid a courtesy visit to DCCI on Monday and had a bilateral meeting with its President Taskeen Ahmed, said a press release.
During the meeting, Taskeen Ahmed said the bilateral trade between both the countries in the fiscal year 2023-24 was US$1.39 billion while the import and export were $902.90 million and $491.73 million respectively.
South Korea is the third largest investor in Bangladesh, having already invested $1.56 billion, he mentioned.
Moreover, RMG, ship-building, leather and leather products, API, automobiles, electronics, semiconductor, information technology and other sectors are also potential to attract South Korean FDI, he further said.
Taskeen later urged South Korea to hire more skilled human resources from Bangladesh.
He said, "Our educated young freelancers have now been doing very well in designing in the semiconductor industry recently, and hoped for South Korea's all out cooperation in its technological advancement further."
PARK Yong-Sik said it is important for Bangladesh to simplify the visa issuance and renewal processes, speed up the customs clearance procedures, expedite the services provided by the BIDA, keep the corporate tax rate at a tolerable level and reduce logistics costs to attract foreign investment more.
Bangladesh has a great potential for foreign investment due to its large pool of human resources, geographically strategic location and large consumer market, he said.
Besides, Yong-Sik said, there is a lot of scope for foreign investment in Bangladesh in the sectors like electronics, mobile, automobile, information technology, RMG etc.
The Ambassador also said South Korea has been assisting in various technical training centers in Bangladesh for capacity development and creating skilled human resources.
He later said that Bangladesh is going to graduate from LDC to middle income country in 2026, if South Korean industries can collaborate or make joint ventures with Bangladeshi companies, it will then create an opportunity for local entrepreneurs to have access to high-end technology that would help Bangladesh face the post-LDC challenge.
Later, Senior Vice-President of the DCCI Rajeev H. Chowdhury called upon the South Korean agro-based investors to invest in Bangladesh through joint ventures especially in the agro-processing sector.
DCCI Vice President Md. Salim Solaiman and high official from the Embassy were also present on the occasion. —BSS
