Govt focuses on 4 priorities to ensure business-friendly environment: BIDA chief

Executive Chairman of Bangladesh Investment Development Authority (BIDA) and Bangladesh Economic Zones Authority (BEZA) Chowdhury Ashik Mahmud Bin Harun has said the government is focusing on four priorities to ensure business-friendly environment.

"BIDA and BEZA are focusing on four main priorities: fast-tracking high-impact investment projects, expanding and improving One-Stop Services, solving problems faced by investors, and creating a strong pipeline of major investments," he said.

Ashik Chowdhury said this while talking to BSS in an interview at the Investment Building in the city.

The BIDA chief said the government's goal is to continue the momentum, notwithstanding the fact that this is an interim administration.

"We are putting in significant efforts to ensure that investors do receive comprehensive support and the assurance that their investments in Bangladesh will be secured and profitable," he added.

Responding to a question on 'Bangladesh Investment Summit 2025', Ashik Chowdhury mentioned that it was quite successful for the government against its planed objectives.

"We received a very positive response from international and local investors, development partners, and stakeholders. Many investors showed their strong interest in exploring opportunities in Bangladesh across sectors like renewable energy, information technology, manufacturing, infrastructures, and healthcare," he said.

He stated that this summit clearly demonstrated that the global business community sees Bangladesh as a promising and reliable investment destination.

"It also allowed us to highlight the government's efforts in building an investor-friendly environment and world-class infrastructures. In continuation of this, we were able to generate a pipeline of potential investors. We are highly encouraged by the outcomes and fully committed to converting this strong interest into real, on-the-ground investments," he explained.

The BIDA chief, however, said the government's top priority after the 2025 Bangladesh Investment Summit is to stay in close contact with the potential investors.

"We have built a comprehensive database of the participants and are now engaging with customized support based on their investment lifecycle. We have plans to continue building relationships with these investors throughout their decision-making journey to eventually convert their interest into active investments," he added.

Responding to another question on whether the government would follow up and act on the policy suggestions made by the investors and the various stakeholders in different sessions of the summit, he said, "Of course, yes. Investors, in our opinion, are our partners. Their opinions are highly valuable to us."

During the summit, he said, they carefully recorded all the suggestions made during the sessions.

"The key points highlighted were very similar to our initially identified priority areas: Renewable Energy & Green Growth, Digital Economy & Tech Transformation, Textile & Apparel (Advanced & Sustainable), Healthcare & Pharmaceuticals, and Agro-processing & Food Value Chain. We plan to expedite initiatives to address these areas," he added.

A four-day 'Bangladesh Investment Summit 2025' was held from 7 April to 10 April to showcase the country's evolving investment opportunities and economic reforms.

The summit has yielded initial investment proposals worth Tk3,100 crore (Tk31 billion). Several additional investment proposals are currently in the pipeline.

A total of 415 foreign delegates from 50 countries attended the event.