Serbia keen to invest in food storage in Bangladesh: FBCCI

The visiting Serbian Foreign Affairs Minister Nikola Selakovic expressed his keen interest in investing in the food storage industry of Bangladesh.

The minister expressed the interest in a courtesy call on the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industries (FBCCI) senior vice-president Mostofa Azad Chowdhury Babu on Thursday morning at a city hotel, according to a statement.

Nikola Selakovic said his country's storage companies are one of the best in the world and Bangladesh can also benefit from Serbia’s investment in this sector.

Mentioning that Serbia has free trade agreements (FTAs) with Europe, the Eurasian Economic Union and Turkey, he said, “Bangladesh may benefit by establishing joint ventures and export at zero duty to those free trade countries.”

He also expressed interest in signing two deals on double taxation and investment protection and promotion with Bangladesh to increase bilateral trade.

Serbia is also keen to take skilled and semi-skilled manpower from Bangladesh in construction and agriculture, Selakovic informed.

FBCCI Senior Vice President Mostofa Azad Chowdhury Babu said 30 percent of agricultural products are wasted in Bangladesh every year due to lack of packaging, transportation and storage.

“Bangladesh has cold storage for no other crops but potatoes. Hence, Serbia’s investment in building storage facilities will open up the door of technology transfer,” Babu said.

Both the sides agreed to sign a memorandum of understanding between the Serbian Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the FBCCI, soon.

Serbia’s Assistant Minister for Bilateral Relations Vladimir Maric, Foreign Minister’s Adviser Ivan Jaksic, FBCCI Vice-President Habib Ullah Dawn, Director Amzad Hossain, Shomi Kaiser, Dr Nadia Binte Amin, Abul Kasem Khan and Secretary General Mohammad Mahfuzul Hoque, among others, were present.