Executive Chairman of the Bangladesh Investment Development Authority (BIDA) and Bangladesh Economic Zones Authority (BEZA), Chowdhury Ashik Mahmud Bin Harun, has said the government is focusing on four major priorities to ensure a business-friendly environment in the country.
“BIDA and BEZA are focusing on four main priorities: fast-tracking high-impact investment projects, expanding and improving One-Stop Services, solving problems faced by investors, and creating a strong pipeline of major investments,” he said in an interview with BSS at the Investment Building in the capital.
Despite being an interim administration, the government is determined to maintain momentum, Ashik Chowdhury stated.
“We are making significant efforts to ensure that investors receive comprehensive support and the assurance that their investments in Bangladesh will be secure and profitable,” he added.
Regarding the recently held Bangladesh Investment Summit 2025, he said the summit was a success in terms of the government’s planned objectives.
“We received a very positive response from international and local investors, development partners, and stakeholders. Many investors showed strong interest in exploring opportunities in Bangladesh across sectors like renewable energy, information technology, manufacturing, infrastructure, and healthcare,” he said.
According to him, the summit demonstrated that the global business community considers Bangladesh a promising and reliable investment destination.
“It also gave us the opportunity to highlight the government’s efforts in building an investor-friendly environment and world-class infrastructure. As a result, we were able to build a strong pipeline of potential investors. We are highly encouraged by the outcomes and are fully committed to converting this strong interest into real, on-the-ground investments,” he added.
He noted that the government’s top priority after the summit is to maintain close engagement with potential investors.
“We have built a comprehensive database of participants and are now providing tailored support based on their stage in the investment lifecycle. We plan to build long-term relationships with these investors throughout their decision-making journey to convert their interest into active investments,” he explained.
When asked whether the government would follow up on the policy suggestions made by investors and stakeholders during the summit, Ashik Chowdhury responded affirmatively.
“Of course, yes. Investors, in our opinion, are our partners. Their opinions are highly valuable to us,” he said.
He also mentioned that all the suggestions from the summit sessions were carefully documented.
“The key areas highlighted closely match our priority sectors: Renewable Energy & Green Growth, Digital Economy & Tech Transformation, Textile & Apparel (Advanced & Sustainable), Healthcare & Pharmaceuticals, and Agro-processing & Food Value Chain. We plan to accelerate initiatives in these areas,” he said.
The four-day Bangladesh Investment Summit 2025, held from April 7 to April 10, aimed to showcase the country’s evolving investment opportunities and ongoing economic reforms. The summit resulted in initial investment proposals worth Tk 3,100 crore (Tk 31 billion), with several more proposals currently in the pipeline. A total of 415 foreign delegates from 50 countries attended the event.