BFTI organized a seminar titled ‘Reducing Bangladesh’s Trade Deficit with Selected Countries: Role of Public Institutions’ on 28 March 2024 at the BFTI Academic Block. Mr. Tapan Kanti Ghosh, Senior Secretary, Ministry of Commerce, graced the occasion as the Special Guest. Dr. Md. Jafar Uddin, Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Bangladesh Foreign Trade Institute (BFTI) presided over the seminar as the Chairperson. The keynote paper of the seminar was presented by Dr. Khondaker Golam Moazzem Research Director, Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD). Dr. Zaidi Sattar, Chairman and Chief Executive, Policy Research Institute of Bangladesh (PRI), Dr. Ahsan H. Mansur, Executive Director, Policy Research Institute of Bangladesh (PRI) & Professor Dr. Selim Raihan, Executive Director, SANEM were present as the panel discussant of the seminar. The open discussion was moderated by Mr. Md. Obaidul Azam, Director, BFTI.
The discussion revealed that for sustainable growth in export, trade deficit can be brimmed by increasing domestic production of highly imported products, diversifying export products, increasing exports of products to new markets and exploiting the full export potential in existing major export markets. Mr. Syed Nasim Manzur, President, Leathergoods And Footwear Manufacturers & Exporters Association of Bangladesh (LFMEAB) & Managing Director Apex Footwear Limited, Ms. Shomi Kaiser, President, e-Commerce Association of Bangladesh (e-CAB) & Director, Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce & Industries (FBCCI), Ms. Priti Chakraborty, Director, FBCCI, Mr. S. Ahmed Mazumder, Chairman, Bangladesh Jute Goods Exporters’ Association (BJGEA), Professor Dr. Zulfiqar Hasan, Department Head of Business Administration, City University and other business leaders and academicians also provided their valuable remarks at the seminar.
