Canadian Senior Assistant Deputy Minister for International Trade and Chief Trade Commissioner Sara Wilshaw met the Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DCCI) on Sunday, signalling Ottawa’s interest in expanding trade and investment ties as both countries look for new avenues of economic cooperation.
Wilshaw held discussions with DCCI Acting President Razeev H Chowdhury at the chamber’s Gulshan centre, with Canadian High Commissioner Ajit Singh also attending.
Chowdhury said bilateral trade reached $2.22 billion in FY2024, including $1.32 billion in Bangladeshi exports to Canada and $901.09 million in imports from Canada. He added that Canada is Bangladesh’s 20th-largest source of foreign direct investment, with FDI stock standing at $132.83 million.
Chowdhury said Bangladesh offers substantial investment potential for Canadian firms in sectors ranging from renewable energy and green technology to automotive components, education, healthcare, financial services, IT infrastructure, smart logistics, warehousing and cold-chain systems.
He also suggested that Canadian importers could source leather goods, jute products, handicrafts, bicycles, high-end apparel, ceramics, furniture, pharmaceuticals, processed and frozen food, software and BPO services from Bangladesh.
Wilshaw said most Canadian companies are small and medium-sized enterprises and that around 75% of Canadian exports and the majority of Canadian FDI flow to the United States, while Canada receives most of its inward FDI from the same market.
She said this concentration underscores the need for export and market diversification, adding that Canada is strong in education, with many Bangladeshi students pursuing higher studies there.
She said both countries have opportunities to collaborate in education and skills development and noted Canadian strengths in the automotive and food-processing industries.
Wilshaw added that Canada aims to help Bangladesh strengthen its supply-chain competitiveness, and that the Canadian automotive sector is actively seeking new markets—an area where Bangladesh could become a promising destination.
High Commissioner Ajit Singh said deeper business-to-business and chamber-to-chamber connections are essential to advancing bilateral ties.
He described Bangladesh’s private sector as the country’s “engine of growth” and said Canada is keen to expand cooperation in skills training, technical assistance, vocational training, nursing, agritech and improving the ease of doing business.
Singh said there is “huge opportunity” to take the two countries’ trade relationship to a new level. DCCI Vice President Md Salim Sulaiman, members of the board and Debra Boyce, counsellor and senior trade commissioner at the Canadian High Commission, were also present.
