Nigeria invited to invest in power sector, import pharmaceuticals

The Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry Thursday invited Nigeria to invest in various fields, especially in power sector, as the apex business body presented before a delegation from the African country huge investment opportunities here.

They conveyed the invitation to the Nigerian government through the visiting Nigerian delegation from Nigeria National Defense College when the team met FBCCI leaders here this (Thursday) noon.

During the meeting, the federative trade forum sought direct linkage with the Nigerian Chamber of Commerce for enhancing trade between the two countries as the bilateral trade position remained so poor.

The business leaders also requested Nigeria to import pharmaceutical products from Bangladesh as they believe Bangladesh produces quality medicines, which is proven on the world market.

Earlier, FBCCI First Vice-President Abul Kashem Ahmed and its directors welcomed the delegation led by Rear Admiral T J Lokoson.

The delegation expressed their interest about micro-credit system to adopt it in Nigeria for poverty alleviation as it became popular in Bangladesh.

They also expressed their desire to establish small cottage industries in Nigeria which might be a tool for their poverty alleviation and wanted to know about Bangladesh's experience.

"Our key objective behind this visit is micro-credit system and it's a research mission on it and other sectors," said the team leader, Rear Admiral T J Lokoson.He said they would make a presentation on the outcome of the visit and put forward a set of recommendations to the government.

"I hope, a high-powered delegation would visit again to discuss the specific issues related to both countries," he said.

The team members were well-briefed about the prospect of micro-credit system, how it works, what is the method of loan distribution and mechanism of recovery.The delegation wanted to know how Bangladesh is being affected by the current global financial flu.

Replying to their query, FBCCI General Secretary Mir Sahabuddin Ahmed said Bangladesh is slowly feeling the impacts of the global financial meltdown.He admitted that the volume of export is somewhat down and the flow of remittance has decreased due to the financial downswing.