Spanish Ambassador to Bangladesh Francisco de Asís Benítez Salas in an interview with The News Times praised the role of Bangladeshi Diaspora in Spain who are contributing significantly to the economy of the EU country.
“Today, around 25,000 Bangladeshi nationals live in Spain. Many of them are long term residents in our country, with their families, and have their own businesses. Others are employed in different sectors. Their children attend Spanish schools and the families have adapted well to our way of life. The Bangladeshi community in Spain is very entrepreneurial and hard working. Through their economic activities, they represent a very positive contribution to the Spanish economy and an additional element of diversity in the communities they live in,” the Spanish envoy said.
The remaining part of the interview is as follows:
News Times: What is your perception about our culture and heritage?
Francisco de Asís Benítez Salas: Bangladesh has a very distinctive, centuries-old and refined culture. It can be seen, and appreciated, in its rich cultural heritage, its historic buildings and its modern architecture, its traditions, its people’s vision of the world, social relations and family. It can also be appreciated through Bangladeshi cuisine, with its intense flavours, colours and perfumes. All this background is reflected in today’s Bangladeshi society: Bangladesh is a country of great and world renowned scientists, architects, writers, artists, engineers, professors and academicians, doctors, film directors and actors, journalists, singers, musicians, poets, sportsmen and women… Many of them work in foreign countries and universities. This is because there is a great and powerful culture and heritage behind.
NT: Bangladesh-Spain bilateral trade has reached near 1.00 billion US dollars. What is our target to reach bilateral trade within next five years?
Benítez Salas: As a single country, Spain is the fourth largest customer of Bangladesh, with imports worth almost three billion euro a year. Our commercial relations are concentrated mainly in the RMG sector and that is working very well. However, our yearly exports to Bangladesh are still quite low, barely reaching 200 million euro. There is , therefore, a great potential for an increase in our commercial exchanges. The recent opening of a Commercial Office in our Embassy and the existence of a Bangladesh-Spain Chamber of Commerce in Dhaka reflect this potential. Our main target for the coming years is not only to increase our exports, thereby trying to improve the existing imbalance, but mainly to diversify our commercial relations beyond RMG sector. In Spain, we have many companies, big, medium-sized and small, which are world leaders in their respective areas: energy, railways, infrastructures, state-of-the art technologies, scientific agriculture and agro-food related industries, equipment of different kinds, defense technology, waste management and recycling and even banking, to name only a few sectors. They offer reliability, cost-efectiveness, first-class quality and very competitive prices.
NT: Foreign direct investment (FDI) flow to Bangladesh suffered last year as corona pandemic hit the world. Do you see more Spanish investment in Bangladesh, particularly in the power and energy sectors? How do you evaluate the investment climate in Bangladesh?
Benítez Salas: Since the opening of our Embassy in Dhaka in 2008, we are trying to identify business opportunities in Bangladesh and making the Bangladeshi market better known to Spanish companies of different sectors. In parallel, we work to disseminate information about Spanish companies among the Bangladeshi business community and establish contacts so that they can explore opportunities. We already have a number of very interesting projects and initiatives going on. In the energy sector, we have some examples of Spanish companies carrying out projects in Bangladesh. Técnicas Reunidas (TR), for instance, is one of them. A big company with an extensive international record, they built, with TSK (another Spanish company), two power plants in Ashuganj, in 2014-2017. Now, TR is working in another project in Chittagong. Also, ACS Group, through its company Cobra, has been involved in important electricity supply projects. Técnica y Proyectos, S.A. (TYPSA), is another important Spanish company with a very successful record in Bangladesh, having been awarded important infrastructure projects by the Government. These activities will open the way for more Spanish companies in the energy, engineering and construction sectors to come to Bangladesh.
The business and investment climate in Bangladesh has improved significantly in the last few years. However, more needs to be done and there is still room for improvement. In the EU group, we are working closely with the Government and with the business community to make the business environment more attractive to foreign investment so that companies, both local and foreign, may benefit from the potential of the Bangladeshi market, thereby creating jobs and contributing to the prosperity of the country. This is key to the social and economic development process that the Government of Bangladesh, under the vision and leadership of H.E. the Prime Minister, is so successfully promoting. Foreign investment not only generates employment, but also improves competition, training and capabilities of local industries, partner companies and work force, enhances know-how transfer and often entails the involvement of academic institutions, mainly universities (which in Bangladesh have an excellent level), in different projects. All this creates a virtuous circle that accelerates and strengthens economic development. I am very confident that the investment climate will improve further and attract an increased flow of foreign investment in Bangladesh.
NT: Bangladesh has become a member of a mid-income country this year. How do you see the achievement of Bangladesh’s economic success in the last 50 years?
Benítez Salas: Bangladesh has undergone an incredible social and economic transformation in the span of only fifty years. We should bear in mind where the country was in 1971, at the moment of independence, after a very destructive war of liberation that left the country in ruins, and where it is now, with a GDP per capita over 2,000 USD, ready for graduation from LDC category, with dynamic and globally connected business community, a thriving economy growing over 7% a year and, to quote a very illustrative example of the Bangladeshi success, the most technically advanced textile factories in the world. This is a remarkable achievement and nobody can deny that this is a true miracle. No country has achieved such goals in such a short period of time and, above all, after a war of liberation. Bangladesh’s miracle is now a model for many countries.
NT: What is the number Bangladeshis living in your country? How do your government evaluate their contributions to your country?
Benítez Salas: Today, around 25,000 Bangladeshi nationals live in Spain. Many of them are long term residents in our country, with their families, and have their own businesses. Others are employed in different sectors. Their children attend Spanish schools and the families have adapted well to our way of life. The Bangladeshi community in Spain is very entrepreneurial and hard working. Through their economic activities, they represent a very positive contribution to the Spanish economy and an additional element of diversity in the communities they live in.
