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and three Central Asian countries soon in a bid to reduce its
dependence on Europe and the US markets. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina
will hold bilateral talks with her counterparts in African nations
on the sidelines of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting
scheduled for November 27-29 in the city of Port of Spain in
Trinidad and Tobago. "We are collecting data of Bangladesh's exports
to 10 African and three Central Asian countries in line with a
directive of the Prime Minister's Office," a senior Bangladesh Bank
official told The Daily Star. The African countries are Kenya, Mali,
Mauritius, Nigeria, South Africa, Sudan, Sierra Leone, Tanzania,
Uganda and Zambia, while Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan are
the three Central Asian countries. Of these countries, seven are the
members of the 53- nation Commonwealth forum. The Commonwealth meeting
is convened every two years to review global, political and economic
developments and conduct a strategic overview of the forum's works in
support of the member countries' interests. Earlier, the central bank
in a letter issued on October 4 asked all authorised dealer banks to
submit export data for five years between 2004 and 2008 for the
prime minister's convenience by October 15. According to government
officials, the prime minister will hold bilateral meetings with
these countries to boost Bangladesh's trade with them, especially
exports. The country exported goods worth $15.56 billion in fiscal
2008-09 , according to Export Promotion Bureau. Of the amount, $8.2
billion came from Europe and nearly $4 billion from the US. Most of
the remaining exports were destined to Asia, Australia and Canada.
African countries still remain almost untapped. However, the
country's knitwear manufacturers have initiated a move to explore
potential African markets for selling their products. A delegation of
the sector has recently visited some African countries. Bangladesh
exported woven and knit garments worth $46.51 million only to South
Africa in fiscal 2008-09 , the biggest economy in the continent.
Garment manufacturers have hailed the prime minister's move to explore
markets in Africa. They also termed it a timely initiative. "Africa
can be a potential market for Bangladesh. I hope the prime minister's
initiative will give us result soon," said Fazlul Hoque, president of
Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association. "The
move will help expand our export markets in Africa," said Abdus salam
Murshedy, president of Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and
Exporters Association. "We have to pay tax for exports in South
Africa. The prime minister's plan for bilateral talks with South
Africa may help us in this regard," Murshedy said. But Hoque demands
private sector's involvement in the PM's initiative for a fruitful
outcome.
