DHAKA: Denmark Minister for Trade and Development Cooperation, Mogens Jensen, said during his visit to Bangladesh that Danish companies were interested investing in Bangladesh’s Payra port project.
He mentioned two that wanted to participate in the New Mooring Terminal in Chittagong, the Payra port in Patuakhali, and a 100-MW power plant.
The PM’s Press Secretary, AKM Shameem Chowdhuri, told after the meeting that ‘AP Moller Terminals’ was ready to invest in the new mooring terminal project on a ‘public-private-partnership’ basis.
The same firm was also eager to invest in a ‘government-to-government’model for the Payra port, he said. Another company, Vestas, had begun moves to reach an agreement with Bangladesh’s power division for a 100-MW power plant.
The minister came to Dhaka on Mar 17 to attend a high-level conference on Thursday on the readymade garment sector. Denmark is one of Bangladesh’s a long-standing partner since independence.
It was one of the first European countries to recognise Bangladesh in 1972. Bangladesh has recently opened a mission in Copenhagen.
The Prime Minister recalled Denmark’s support with gratitude and said the friendly bilateral relations would continue to improve in political, trade, economic, scientific, educational and cultural spheres in future.
She said the opening of the diplomatic mission in Copenhagen would make the relations “wider and deeper”.
She particularly stressed mutual cooperation in agriculture, shipping, tourism, construction, ICT and renewable energy.
Denmark is also a leading destination for Bangladesh’s duty-free garment exports, and the country was in close touch with the government in the aftermath of the of Rana Plaza building collapse.
The minister also launched ‘Denmark-Bangladesh Strategic Sector Cooperation’ plan in the conference.
The PM congratulated him for the “successful” launching of this cooperation plan and appreciated the Danish initiative for organising the high-level conference on RMG.
