DHAKA, Textiles and Jute Minister Jahangir Kabir Nanak today said the
government wants to take the privilege of more exports of Bangladeshi readymade garments
(RMG) and jute-made goods to Russia.
‘Russia can be a big export market for Bangladeshi jute and jute-made goods,’ he said while
talking to journalists after a meeting with Russian Ambassador in Bangladesh Alexander V
Mantytskiy at his secretariat office here this morning.
Terming Russia a ‘tested friend’ of Bangladesh, the textile minister said ‘Russia played a major
role in the Liberation War of Bangladesh.
‘Russia helped during our Liberation War and later extended cooperation for the reformation of
the country,’ he said, adding that since then Russia has been helping Bangladesh in various
sectors.
Nanak said Russian President Vladimir Putin congratulated Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina for
taking office as the Prime Minister of Bangladesh for four consecutive terms after the 12th
parliamentary elections.
Citing Russian’s assistance, the j
ute minister recalled that the Ruppur Nuclear Power plant is
being constructed with the assistance of Russia.
Mentioning that the textile and jute ministry is putting emphasis on the export of jute and jute-
made goods, he said, ‘So, discussion happened on how to arrange a ‘trade fair’ between the two
countries.’
Russia also assured of continuously providing the overall assistance to the economic development
of Bangladesh, said the minister.
Responding to a query about whether Russian investment would come to the jute sector of
Bangladesh, Nanak said the discussion is underway as their [Russian] trading representatives are
arriving. ‘We are hopeful that Russian investors would invest in the jute sector’, he told the
newsmen.
After the meeting, the Russian envoy said, ‘Many big companies have left Russia and
Bangladesh can seize that opportunity, adding ‘Particularly, we want to import RMG, tobacco,
agro and leather products from Bangladesh.’
Russia is also interested in importing jute and jute-m
ade goods from Bangladesh, said Alexander.
Textiles and Jute secretary M Abdur Rauf, Additional Secretary Taslima Kaniz Nahida, Joint
Secretary Gopal Chandra Das and third secretary of the Russian Embassy Oleg Cozin, among
others, were present.
Source: Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha