A meeting was held between the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) and the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI) in Canberra, Australia on July 22.

President Faruque Hassan headed the BGMEA side while ACCI was represented by its Chief Executive Officer Andrew McKellar along with Head of Business Development and International Affairs Chris Bames.

Bangladesh High Commissioner to Australia H. E. M Allama Siddiki was present at the meeting which was also attended by BGMEA Vice President Shahidullah Azim, Director Asif Ashraf, Chair of BGMEA Standing Committee on Press, Publication and Publicity Shovon Islam, Chair of BGMEA Standing Committee on Foreign Mission Cell Shams Mahmud and CEO of HSBC Bangladesh Md Mahbub ur Rahman. 

They had discussions about different issues including investment opportunities, potential partnership, joint ventures, policy supports offered by the governments to facilitate trade and investment.

They also talked about ways of fostering collaboration to identify promising areas of trade and investment and make use of the opportunities to reap mutual benefits.   

During the meeting, they stressed on the importance of enhancing industry connections between the businessmen of Australia and Bangladesh to further strengthen bilateral trade.

They expressed keenness to collaborate on bringing traders of both countries closer for business interactions to help them to explore trade and investment opportunities. 

In the meeting, BGMEA President Faruque Hassan gave an overview of the RMG industry of Bangladesh with focus on its growth potential, particularly in the Australia and New Zealand markets.

He also mentioned that Bangladesh is a potential market for Australia’s cotton and wool. 

Besides, Australia could also explore investment opportunities in infrastructure, energy, mining and ICT sector, he added.