Remarks

Remarks by Chargé d’Affaires, a.i. Judith A. Chammas at the America Week 2006 Business Lunch sponsered by the Chittagong Chamber of Commerce

Hotel Peninsula

March 15, 2006

Thank you - President Saifuzzaman Chowdhury, for your warm welcome and kind introduction.  Honorable Mayor Mohiuddin Chowdhury, President of the Chamber Mr. Saifuzzaman, Executive Committee members, business leaders, honored guests, ladies and gentlemen -- Asalamu Alaikum, Namaskar and Good Afternoon.

I am very thankful to the Chittagong Chamber of Commerce for organizing and sponsoring this lunch to help us celebrate America Week in Chittagong.  This follows the tradition of close cooperation and partnership between the Chamber and the American Embassy.  The Chittagong Chamber is not just a great economic forum in Chittagong.   It is one of the most important Chambers of Commerce in all Bangladesh.  As the premier Chamber in the economic capital of Bangladesh, the Chittagong Chamber, in its nearly 50 years of existence, has done a tremendous job in promoting Chittagong as a business city, and addressing obstacles to economic progress in the city.  The Chamber continues to promote not just Chittagong nationally but also Bangladesh internationally. 

One of the highlights of the Chamber’s activities is the annual Chittagong International Trade Fair.  This Trade Fair brings together companies from all over Bangladesh and even from abroad.  I had the opportunity to visit the Fair yesterday on its last day.  I was impressed by the number of exhibitors, and also by the quality and variety of exhibits.  I hope all of you got the chance to visit the Fair and took advantage of the exhibits that were presented at the Fair. 

I have been told that the Chittagong Chamber is undertaking many new and ambitious projects in Chittagong, including a state-of-the-art World Trade Center in Chittagong.  This new facility is supposed to provide tremendous new growth opportunities for trade in this region of the country.  With the growth of Chittagong in the past few years as the premier business destination in Bangladesh, a Trade Center will bring further opportunities to this city and to Bangladesh. 

The American Embassy decided to hold our annual America Week in Chittagong this year due to the growing importance of this city both economically and socially.  With more than 6.5 million people living in the Chittagong area, it is important for the Embassy to reach out to this community and bring attention to the progress being made in the city.  We also hope to address some of the continuing challenges that the city and the region faces.

Chittagong is the premier export-import region in Bangladesh, with the Chittagong port handling more than 85% of the country’s total trade.  The Port continues to be a focus for progress in Chittagong due to the trade load it carries.  Although the port continues to be plagued with inefficiencies, delays, and inadequate facilities, it is seeing tremendous progress these days.  Large-scale plans to modernize the port and to add a new deep sea port facility are underway to improve efficiency at the port.  We hope the government will not waiver in its plans to privatize management and operation of the new container terminal.  Ongoing reforms in customs through automation and standardization of procedures are improving container security and customs clearance processes in the port. 

The Chittagong Export Processing Zone is another shining example of progress in Chittagong.  The Chittagong EPZ has booked up all 420 available plots with more than 400 million dollars in investment.  The EPZ has attracted investors from various regional and international companies in a variety of sectors.  The demand has been so great for the EPZ that they have recently added more than 300 acres of land from the abandoned steel mills.  The recent establishment of the first private EPZ in the country in Chittagong is a testament to the success achieved by the Chittagong EPZ.  Such growth is bound to increase the profile of Chittagong as a business destination, not just nationally but also internationally. 

Many companies have also found Chittagong to be the ideal base for their operations outside the EPZ.  More than 12 multinational corporations, including some American companies, have their bases in Chittagong.  I am happy to see Mr. Salman Ispahani here this afternoon. The Ispahani group of companies has used Chittagong as its home base for more than 100 years.  This morning I visited and was very impressed by the Chittagong Eye Infirmary.  The managers of the Infirmary are currently in the process of developing a state-of-the-art full-service hospital with U.S. based Trinity Medical Group.  This new hospital will use American equipment and management.  Such progress in technology and social welfare is designed to meet the growing demand for high quality goods and services in Chittagong. 

This beautiful new Peninsula hotel with modern amenities and American management is another great example of development in Chittagong to meet growing demands.  I congratulate the management team of the hotel for successfully completing this project and for developing such a beautiful business-friendly facility in the heart of Chittagong.  We look forward to many years of successful partnership with you and this hotel in Chittagong.

Chittagong also continues to grow as a center for higher education with nine major universities in the area.  In addition to the prominent Chittagong University and the Chittagong University of Engineering and Technology, there are several well-reputed private universities, business schools and institutes in the city.  A growing middle-class exposed to international business in the area means there is a growing demand for such institutions of higher learning in Chittagong.

To meet these increasing demands due to unprecedented growth in the area, it is important to address the infrastructure needs of the region.  Demands of growing businesses have overburdened the existing infrastructure exponentially.  Congestion on the streets, power shortages, backlogs in transit and at the port are becoming increasing challenges for the city.  Plans to improve and expand the Dhaka-Chittagong Transit Corridor will alleviate some of the transportation problems but a lot more needs to be done.  Privatizing management of the Chittagong airport is also another positive step in this direction.  In addition to these improvements, more needs to be done to meet growing demands for power in the area. 

Chambers and business associations like yours and business leaders like all of you here are in the frontlines of this progress.  I congratulate you on the developments that you have brought to Chittagong and encourage you to continue demanding more efficiency from public utilities and government services to meet growing international demands.  For the Bangladeshi middle class to continue to grow, to attract foreign investment to Bangladesh, and to achieve higher levels of economic growth, the Government and the business community must tackle these problems together. 

The American Embassy is doing its part to address these issues.  Events like America Week bring attention to such issues.  We are striving to promote better business practices and government procedures in Bangladesh.  We continue to encourage the Government to take the necessary steps to address areas of concern to encourage greater investment to Bangladesh.  The Embassy’s Trade Center in the Economic and Commercial Section works hard on behalf of U.S. firms doing business here.  We are here to help American firms find partners and succeed.  I am sure that through the concerted efforts of the Embassy and organizations like the Chittagong Chamber of Commerce, we can bring the benefits of liberalized trade and investment to both the United States and Bangladesh.

There are many challenges and even more opportunities ahead for Chittagong.  Let’s work on meeting these challenges together.   Thank you.

 

Note:  A Bangla translation of this article is also available from the American Center.  If you are interested in the translation, please call the American Center Press Section (Tel: 8813440-4, Fax: 9881677; e-mail: DhakaPA@state.gov; Website: dhaka.usembassy.gov