The Consulate General of Bangladesh in Toronto in collaboration with Ontario Chamber of Commerce (OCC) has recently organized 'Bangladesh-Canada Business Forum- 2019' in Toronto.
This is the first ever Business Forum since the establishment of diplomatic relations with Canada. Commerce Minister Tipu Munshi led a 19 member Bangladesh Business delegation to the Forum.
National Board of Revenue Chairman Md Mosharraf Hossain Bhuiyan, BEZA Executive Chairman Paban Chowdhury, Bangladesh High Commissioner to Canada Mizanur Rahman, President of FBCCI Sheikh Fazle Fahim, BASIS President Syed Almas Kabir and Vice President (Finance) Mushfiqur Rahman have also joined the Bangladesh Delegation.
The Forum comprised high level deliberations, presentations and two panel discussions and a valedictory session. The theme of the first panel was "How Canada enhances Business and Investment with Bangladesh" moderated by Syed Almas Kabir, President of Bangladesh Association of Software and Information Services (BASIS). And second panel was on "How Bangladesh enhances Business and Investment with Canada" moderated by Rocco Rossi, President and CEO of Ontario Chamber of Commerce (OCC).
Minister of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade of Ontario Victor Fedeli who was the guest of honor at the Forum stressed on deeper engagement with Bangladesh. Commerce Minister Tipu Munshi said that under the visionary leadership of the Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, the country is on the verge of attaining double digit growth.
BASIS President Syed Almas Kabir said, "BASIS is relentlessly working along with ICT Division for building Digital Bangladesh". Canada is one of the prospective software export destination for Bangladesh. This forum will surely tie strong business bond between the two countries, he added.
The following day BASIS President also took part at the roundtable discussion on 'Exploring Trade and Investment Potential of Saskatchewan Province of Canada' with the delegation from Greater Saskatoon Chamber of Commerce as well as the Government of Saskatchewan. Tipu Munshi reiterated with BASIS Presidents' call for choosing Bangladeshi IT companies as solution providers for Canadian businesses and invest in Bangladesh IT industry in Joint Ventures and as Venture Capital (VC).
BASIS President also invited the Canadian universities to make collaboration with Bangladeshi universities for developing skilled workforce. He also urged High Commissioner of Bangladesh in Canada, Consulate General and Honorary Consul to work towards branding Bangladeshi IT industry.