11 May 2020 - As part of the Embassy's thrust of economic diplomacy, Ambassador Alan L. Deniega met with the President of Dhaka Chamber of Commerce & Industry (DCCI), Mr. Rizwan Rahman, at the chamber's headquarters in Motijheel.

With the DCCI being one of the largest and most prestigious chambers of commerce and industry in Bangladesh, various venues of partnership were discussed during the call. 

Aside from the present FTA thrust of Bangladesh and discussions of the country's strengths in trade and investment, the two sides also explored how to approach establishing direct flights between Dhaka and Manila, a linkage that is vital to uplifting economic relations between the two countries.

More meetings are expected to follow, given the importance of DCCI. The chamber represents thousands of SME and MSME interests, and under the leadership of its dynamic President and board has been actively modernizing its services to its members.

The Embassy team was joined by the President of the Bangladesh-Philippines Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BPCCI), Engineer Akber Hakim, who himself was a former Board member of DCCI.