Bangladesh, India to open new window of co-op

With Bangladesh and India already basking in excellent ties based on mutual trust and friendship, the businessmen from the two neighbouring countries have pledged to collaborate on promoting the export of jewellery from the region to international market to further deepen the bilateral relations.

The announcement came at the first-ever B2B summit ‘Sonar Bangla’ held in Panaji, the capital city of Indian state of Goa, on June 28-29. Goa is popularly known as the ‘Pearl of the Orient’.

Nearly 100 high-profile jewellery businessmen from Bangladesh and India joined the summit organised by Indian company KNC Services Ltd.

Bashundhara Group Managing Director and Bangladesh Jeweller’s Association (BAJUS) President Sayem Sobhan Anvir inaugurated the summit at five-star hotel The Leela Goa in the beach town.

BAJUS Vice-President and Chairman of its Standing Committee on Foreign Trade and Market Development Badal Chandra Roy, Sonar Bangla Expo convener Hasmukh Parekh and KNC Services founder Kranti Nagvekar spoke on the occasion.

On the sidelines of the business summit, a jewellery exhibition was also arranged, which showcased the essence of India. Thirty-five internationally reputed Indian jewellery houses put on display their luxury ornaments of renowned heritage brands, emerging design talent and finest retailers from around the country.

During the business forum, BAJUS President Sayem Sobhan Anvir also met Chief Minister of Goa Pramod Sawant to discuss bilateral support in promotion of gold export from the subcontinent to other parts of the world.

The young business leader invited the Goa chief minister to visit Dhaka to extend collaboration in tourism and medical services apart from supporting the gold manufacturing industry.

Joining the inaugural ceremony virtually, Chief Minister of Goa Pramod Sawant thanked the organisers for choosing Goa for the first-ever business summit of Indian and Bangladeshi jewellery industries.

Laying emphasis on cooperation in the areas of trade, investment, joint venture, human resources development in the jewellery industry, Sayem Sobhan Anvir said Bangladesh and India should build on this positive legacy of history to forge stronger cooperation in the present times for their mutual benefit.

“We stand shoulder to shoulder with the country’s leadership and people in their development journey,” he said. 

Terming India-Bangladesh relations a brotherly one, the Bashundhara Group Managing Director said India should continue its support as given during the Liberation War in 1971 to help the development journey of Bangladesh as it is on track to be a middle-income country.

He further said India should scale up their trade and economic engagement with Bangladesh as partners and assist in prosperity of the country. “Let’s work with the spirit of friendship and brotherhood to write a new chapter of economic prosperity in South Asia,” he added. 

Diplomats in India said though Goa thrives mainly on tourism, there are enough resources to explore for the jewellery domain as well. 

They thanked the Bangladesh side for taking such a praiseworthy initiative of arranging a jewellery business summit and expressed the hope that together the two countries will take the jewellery industry to a dignified position in the global market.

Bangladeshi diplomats said the jewellery business summit between the two friendly countries will usher in a new era in the bilateral relationship of Bangladesh and India. This summit will further enhance business-to-business relations and both the countries will greatly benefit by opening another window of cooperation.

With the sun, sand and sea, Goa was the perfect venue for the jewellery summit as it is one of India’s special places, a state seemingly blessed with magnificent weather. Fabulous beaches, delightful people, good food, hilltop forts, little white-washed churches, soaring Portuguese-era cathedrals, a unique cultural legacy-small wonder, all together made Goa as one of India’s prime holiday destinations.

According to the organisers, the main objective of the business summit was to bring the business communities of both countries together. 

Talking about the summit, KNC Services founder CEO Kranti Nagvekar said the ‘Sonar Bangla’ summit is a country-specific business-to-business forum for extending collaboration in gold industry and other sectors. 

“All of us know that Bashundhara Group Managing Director Sayem Sobhan Anvir is a visionary business leader. He wants more collaboration in Indo-Bangla relationship for supporting business. There were a couple of business meetings where Indian investors pledged to support gold manufacturing in Bangladesh,” Kranti Nagvekar told the Daily Sun.

The summit also featured B2B interactions, product displays, sharing of ideas on design, opportunity for export of jewellery items and setting up of joint venture jewellery industries in Bangladesh. 

The event explored opportunities, built synergies and examined joint investment proposals by business houses on both sides.