Driving Foreign Investment for Jobs and Prosperity in Bangladesh

Distinguished guests, Excellencies, friends from the international community, respected business leaders, members of the Foreign Investors’ Chamber of Commerce and Industry, development partners, and honoured guests, Assalamu Alaikum, and a warm good morning to you all. It is an honour and privilege to join you today.

As I look across this room, I see some of the best and brightest business executives, investors, and experts. Many of you have chosen Bangladesh as a place to invest and grow your business. Your investments have created jobs, introduced new technologies, strengthened global supply chains, and contributed to Bangladesh’s economic progress. For that, I extend my sincere gratitude.

Before entering politics, I also started my career as a businessman. From my experience, I have learnt that businesses do not succeed only because of entrepreneurial credentials or political promises. They partly succeed because of the government policies that support growth.

Today, I want to give you a simple message: the new, forward-looking BNP government wants your companies to invest and expand in Bangladesh. Whether you are a local entrepreneur or a foreign investor, when you invest in Bangladesh, our government will invest in you through our time, support, and policies. That is a commitment we will keep, InshaAllah.

Bangladesh has many challenges, but it also has remarkable strengths. We have a large and fast-growing domestic market, a young and hardworking population, a strategic location, and an elected government with overwhelming public support. Together, these strengths position Bangladesh for sustained prosperity.

Our vision is to build a rules-based, globally connected, private sector-driven economy. Our election manifesto provides a clear roadmap for economic transformation. We invite you not only to invest in Bangladesh, but also to become partners in delivering that vision.

Our government has completed five months in office, but our policy preparations began long before the election. We listened to investors, entrepreneurs, business associations, economists, development partners, and business leaders. Their message was clear: Bangladesh needs stronger legal protection for investment, modern regulatory framework, simpler tax system, easier profit repatriation, deeper capital market, and better infrastructure.

We listened carefully, and now we are acting accordingly.

We are modernising our legal and regulatory framework, strengthening investor protection, improving dispute resolution, simplifying tax and VAT administration, and making it easier to repatriate profits. We are also developing a stronger capital market, encouraging startups, reducing unnecessary regulation, cutting red tape, simplifying government procedures, and digitising public services. At the same time, we are improving ports, logistics, infrastructure, and energy security, while encouraging greater investment in renewable energy.

Our government is determined to build a one-trillion-dollar economy by 2034. Our first budget provides targeted incentives for priority sectors, including renewable energy, pharmaceuticals, electronics, digital services, agro-processing, advanced textiles, healthcare, and logistics. We are positioning Bangladesh as a manufacturing hub, expanding and diversifying our ready-made garment industry, and investing in the skills, know-how, and technologies needed for  human capital development.

Bangladesh’s future depends not only on attracting investment, but also on building lasting partnerships. I invite every business leader in this room to become part of that future. Together, we can build an economy that is stronger, equitable, and inclusive.

I welcome all of you to invest and flourish in Bangladesh. Let us grow together, create jobs, and shape Bangladesh. Let us become partners in building a prosperous and globally connected Bangladesh.

Thank you very much, and I wish you all the very best in our collective journey ahead.