As part of the Philippine Embassy’s thrust to strengthen the bilateral economic and commercial relations between the Philippines and Bangladesh, Ambassador Alan L. Deniega visited the port city of Chattogram for the second time, after his December 2021 visit, to pursue an economic mission in view of identifying concrete economic partnerships with Bangladeshi business community.

The economic mission, joined by Economic Counsellor Eugenio Elevado Jr. of the Philippine Trade and Investment Center (PTIC) based in New Delhi, President of the Bangladesh-Philippines Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BPCCI) Engineer Akber Hakim, and Consul General Mohammed Abdul Awwal of the Philippine Consulate General in Chattogram, kicked off with a call on Chittagong Port Authority’s (CPA) Chairman, Rear Admiral Mohammad Shahjahan on 14 March 2022. The chairman briefed the Philippine delegation on various developments in the city, including the deep-sea port project.

The mission also involved meetings with the members of various chambers of commerce in the city. The team first met with the Chittagong Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce and Industry, represented by its Director, Prof. Syed Ahsanul Alam, and several members of the chamber on 14 March. The Chittagong Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCCI), the next chamber visited, welcomed the team on 15 March 2022. CCCI President Mahbubul Alam, together with several directors and members of the chamber, organized an open forum where various prospects and concrete trade and education initiatives were discussed. The meeting with CCCI was preceded by a tour of the World Trade Center display floor.

Another activity included in the economic mission was a tour in the factories located in the Korean Economic Processing Zone (KEPZ) on 15 March. Inaugurated in 1999, KEPZ is the first private EPZ in Bangladesh under the agreement between the Bangladesh government and Youne Corporation of the Republic of Korea. Ambassador Jahangir Saadat, President of the KEPZ and who previously served as a senior diplomat in Manila, warmly welcomed the team and gave them a tour of some of the factories in the KEPZ. Ambassador Saadat also introduced to Ambassador Deniega two Filipino workers in one of the factories in KEPZ.

Ambassador Deniega also met with the Filipino community on 14 and 16 March. The meetings addressed the various concerns of the Filipinos based in Chattogram, such as the overseas absentee voting and violence against women, among others.