Dhaka: State Minister for Foreign Affairs M Shahriar Alam on Sunday said it is high time for Bangladesh to go beyond the traditional export markets and look for the same in new countries and regions with which it can establish new politico-cultural and economic relations.

‘Certainly, one such prospective region is Latin America,’ he said while addressing the inaugural session of a daylong seminar titled ‘Bangladesh's Relations with Latin American Countries: Unlocking Potentials’.

‘We are eyeing the large Latin American market for our pharmaceuticals, leathers, ceramic wares, plastic and melamine goods, IT products and services, jute products and handicrafts, agricultural products and services including farm managements and cooperatives,’ the State Minister said.

Shahriar said Bangladesh wants to explore new areas of cooperation with all the countries of the region. Its export of readymade garments to Latin American countries has shown a healthy growth in last few years, he added said.

The State Minister invited investments in the sectors of infrastructure, energy, information and communications technology, automobile etc from Latin American countries.

Bangladesh views Latin America not just as a market for its exports, but a valued partner with whom its people could share its culture, said the State Minister.

‘Greater people-to-people contact would eventually lead to greater business and economic opportunities between us,’ he added.

Shahriar said Bangladesh's relationship with Latin America is not only centred around issues and matters of bilateral interests and benefits but also about seizing the growing opportunities for cooperation and collaboration on issues of contemporary global importance and development.

Bangladesh, as the current Chair of the Global Forum on Migration and Development (GFMD), will host the Ninth GFMD Summit in December 2016.

‘Wider participation from Latin American civil society and governments will add momentum and value to our endeavours to achieve the common goals,’ said Shahriar Alam.

The State Minister said economic and trade relations between Bangladesh and the Latin American countries are showing promising signs.

In today's world, he said, access to market is a great challenge and both Bangladesh and Latin American countries can work together for easy market access by addressing the tariff structure and also non-tariff barriers as well as achieving preferential trading arrangements (PTAs) on mutually beneficial terms.

Bangladesh has already put its footprints in Latin America by re-opening the diplomatic mission in Brazil and opening a new one in Mexico a few years ago, he added.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA), Bangladesh and Bangladesh Institute of International and Strategic Studies (BIISS) jointly arranged the seminar at the BIISS while BIISS Chairman Munshi Faiz Ahmad moderate the inaugural session. BIISS Director General AKM Abdur Rahman also spoke.

Ambassadors of Latin American countries --Dominican Republic, Venezuela, Columbia, Mexico, Ecuador, Brazil and Peru -- are attending as panelists at the daylong seminar.