The government is planning to invite German automakers to set plants in Bangladesh.
The formal proposal may be floated during when Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen’s visit to the country this week when he is set to hold talks with German ministers and businesses.
"A German business delegation had a meeting with finance minister last month and they expressed to set up a plant in Bangladesh,” said a foreign ministry official.
German automakers BMW and Volkswagen which have plant across the globe.
The official said there was an inter-ministerial meeting on the visit of the foreign minister to Europe and the issue was discussed.
“In the meeting, the BEZA official confirmed that if there is a deal, they could allocate sufficient amount of land for setting up the plant,” he added.
The foreign minister plans to pitch the idea with both the private and public sector there, he added.
Momen will have meeting with German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas and Economic Cooperation and Development Minister Gerd Müller when he will be in Berlin from Oct 17 to 19.
In addition, he will also attend a programmeorganised by Bangladesh Forum and meet with business leaders there.
Another official said, “Our primary focus will be to attract German investment in different sectors including skill development.”
Bangladesh and European Union have signed a standard of procedure to bring back Bangladeshis who are illegally staying in Europe and the mechanism is working very well, he said.
“Now we want to send Bangladeshis through proper channel and for that we need huge investment in European standard skill development which will cater to the need of those countries,” the official said.
It would be a win-win situation as they need human resources and Bangladesh can help them meet the gap, he added.
The foreign minister is also expected to discuss migration and Rohingya issue with the German government.
FRANCE VISIT
Momen will fly to Paris from Berlin to meet his French counterpart and other government officials from Oct 20 to 22.
A proper economic delegation including officials from commerce ministry, BEZA, BIDA, Hi-Tech Park and private sector will accompany him in Paris, said another official.
“The French Senate is going to organize an event on Bangladesh at Senate Building where Momen will attend,” he said.
The foreign minister will meet his French counterpart Jean-Yves Le Drian and other ministers in Paris, he added.
“Our mission in Paris will not be of different from Berlin as the primary focus will be economic engagement,” the official said.