State Minister for Foreign Affairs Md Shahriar Alam on Thursday inaugurated the exhibition "Made in Bangladesh" at a local hotel in South Africa's Pretoria.

The exhibition was organised by the Bangladesh High Commission in Pretoria. Business Unity South Africa (BUSA) and the Black Business Council of South Africa also joined hands.

South African government officials, chamber representatives, business personalities and ambassadors based in Pretoria joined the event.

The guests highly appreciated the jute, ceramic, textiles, leather, food products and handicrafts of Bangladesh which were put on display. 

Also, a seminar was organised on the occasion where the state minister urged South African businesses and investors to engage more with Bangladesh. He cited the different emerging industrial sectors of Bangladesh.

The Bangladesh high commissioner, South African chamber officials and the foreign ministry officials of South Africa also spoke. 

The South African foreign ministry representative in her speech referred to the close and traditional bonds between Bangladesh and South Africa.

She lauded the leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and Bangladesh's progress towards achieving Vision 2041.

She urged the Bangladeshi businessmen to be more engaged with South Africa for benefitting from business opportunities there as well as for more cooperation between the chambers.

The Black Business Council representative suggested that Bangladesh import various goods from South Africa given the large and growing consumer market of Bangladesh.

He termed South Africa as a lucrative business destination and said Bangladeshi businessmen can reach out to other SADC countries from there.

Earlier, the state minister had interaction with the representatives of BUSA at their office in Sandston.

He was accompanied by the Bangladesh high commissioner in Pretoria and officials of the foreign ministry.

The BUSA officials referred to the huge trade and business opportunities between Bangladesh and South Africa.

The state minister called for joint efforts to realise the trade and business opportunities between Bangladesh and South Africa.

He mentioned the economic strength of both countries, especially in the export sectors.

The state minister invited the South African dignitaries and chambers to join the 50th-anniversary programmes of the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry in March 2023 in Dhaka. 

The BUSA delegation suggested holding mutual discussions to identify potential sectors of trade and Investment. 

The state minister is paying official visits to South Africa, Eswatini and Botswana.

He is due to have meetings with government dignitaries as well as chambers and business entities.

Read more: PM opens ‘Made in Bangladesh Week-2022’