day Bangladeshi Single Country Trade Fair that concluded in Riyadh Monday attracted more Bangladeshi visitors than Saudi businessmen. More number of Bangladeshi families visited the fair because this time the event strongly focused on the country's services sector such as banking and real estate. However, the purpose of organizing the trade fair in the Kingdom was dual – both to attract Saudi investors and businessmen and overseas Bangladeshi workers living in Saudi Arabia, said an official at Bangladeshi Embassy, the joint organizer of the event with Bangladesh Business Community (BBC). Around 13 Bangladeshi companies, including banks and real estate developers that flew into Riyadh directly from Bangladesh participated in the fair inaugurated at Riyadh Palace Hotel by Abdulrahman Al-Jeraisy, President of Riyadh Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Other Bangladeshi companies that participated in the fair were from sectors such as pharmaceutical, knitwear, leather goods, crockery, particularly the melamine tableware and handicraft and cut-flowers. Shah Alam Bakhshi, Commercial Counselor at the Bangladeshi Embassy, said a number of Saudis are keen to invest in Bangladesh, particularly in areas such as information and communication technology (ICT), petroleum, pharmaceuticals and trade and business. Members of Federation of Bangladesh Commerce and Industry, the apex body of businessmen in the country, have been negotiating with some of the leading Saudi companies to set up a huge refinery in Bangladesh, he said. Other partnership projects between private sectors of two countries are also expected in areas such as pharmaceuticals and petroleum, he said. The Saudis are already investing in tourism industry by building starred hotels and other infrastructure projects in the country, he said. Bilateral trade between the two countries has jumped $420 million during 2006-07 with balance of trade largely in favor of Saudi Arabia. This is mainly because Bangladesh imports crude oil and other petroleum products worth $350 million from Saudi Arabia. Bangladeshi exports mainly of ready-made garments, leather goods, melamine and handicraft to Saudi Arabia reached $70 million in 2006-07 as compared with a merely $25 million to $30 million some four years ago, he said. There is still a huge potential for increasing bilateral trade between the two countries, he said. Private sector companies are taking keen interest in exploring possibilities of setting up joint venture projects in a number of fields, he added. __
