PM holds meetings with business leaders on investment climate, economic challenges

Prime Minister Tarique Rahman is holding a series of meetings with business leaders from different sectors to discuss the country's business and investment climate, as well as current economic challenges.

The discussions began at 11am today (13 April) and are being held in three phases, with a total of 15 business representatives scheduled to attend. The finance, commerce, and power ministers are also expected to participate in the meetings.

According to sources at the Prime Minister's Office, the first round of talks started at 11am. Participants in this session included Md Parvez Saiful Islam, chief executive officer of Square Food & Beverage Ltd; Simeen Rahman, group CEO of Transcom Limited; Abdullah Al Mamun, director (corporate finance) at Transcom Limited; Kazi Zahedul Hasan, managing director of Kazi Farms Limited; Kazi Zahin Hasan, director of Kazi Farms Limited; Tamara Hasan Abed, managing director of Brac Enterprises; and Md Azizul Haque, associate director at Seed and Agro Enterprise, Brac.

The second round, which began at 12:30pm, included SK Shamim Uddin, chairman of Akij Venture Group; Sayed Johurul Alam, CEO of Akij Food & Beverage Limited; Tajwar M Awal, director of Lal Teer Seeds Limited; and Moshiur Rahman, managing director of Paragon Limited.

The third round is set to begin at 1:30pm. Business leaders expected to join include Ahsan Khan Chowdhury, chairman and CEO of Pran-RFL Group; Md Aminul Islam, managing director and CEO of Nabil Group of Industries; Mohammad Mustafa Haider, group director of TK Group; and Md Tariq Ahmed, director of TK Group.

When contacted about the agenda, several business leaders declined to comment, though many indicated they would raise sector-specific concerns during the discussions.