Dhaka: German Ambassador to Bangladesh Thomas Prinz on Tuesday said Bangladesh is a dynamic market with excellent perspectives for future economic development.

The volume of bilateral trade has reached almost 4.5 billion Euro in 2014 and is expected to grow. The bilateral trade volume increased by more than 12% during last year, he mentioned.

Thomas Prinz made these remarks at a reception at Hotel Westin in Dhaka on Tuesday.

The programme was organized by Bangladesh German Chamber of Commerce & Industry (BGCCI).

Thomas Prinz also pointed out some issues which hindered flexible German investment in Bangladesh in the last few years.

‘German investment in Bangladesh has for years remained on a modest level. This happens due to problems such as bureaucracy in combination with corruption, energy shortage, land security for factory building, blockades and country-wide political turmoil, to name just the most obvious. An image problem is also to add to these obstacles,’ he said.

About the focus of his mission he said that he wants to focus on the economic possibilities, development cooperation and people. ‘I would like to see the BGCCI becoming a full member of the German Chamber Network during my time in Bangladesh,’ he added.

BGCCI President Sakhawat Abu Khair thanked the Ambassador for his speech and expressed hope that BGCCI would reach greater heights with the guidance from the Embassy during his tenure.

The ambassador also attended another event where SAP launched their special packages for RMG and Textile and Pharmaceutical companies in Bangladesh.

BGCCI Executive Director Daniel Seidl emceed the event.

At the event, Commerce Minister Tofail Ahmed expressed his satisfaction as a SAP training academy is going to be set up in Bangladesh.

‘140 billion euro is spent globally in the SAP service industry. This training institute opens the opportunity for the youth of our country to be part of the SAP service eco system. I hope in a year’s time we can see significant contribution of SAP in increasing the youth employability of the country.’ said Tofail Ahmed.

‘I am also pleased to know that SAP is launching a special package for the Bangladesh Garments and Textiles. These solutions are to enable companies to be more competitive in the world market by reducing their costs, increasing their profitability and addressing workers safety.’ he added.