DHAKA: Commerce Minister Tofail Ahmed on Saturday categorically said that no conspiracy would put a bar in the development process of Bangladesh.

The minister came up with the assertion while addressing a seminar on ‘Canada-Bangladesh Bilateral Trade: Challenge & Opportunities’ at a city hotel on Saturday noon.

Canadian High Commission in Dhaka and Bangladesh-Canada Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CanCham) jointly organized the program.

He said that the trade relation between Bangladesh and Canada is wonderful. This opportunity should be utilized.

Tofail also mentioned that most of the Bangladeshi products have got a duty-free access in Canada. Bangladesh has exported the products of 1.9 billion Canadian dollars to Canada in 2014, he added.

Canada had been working as a development partner of Bangladesh since 1972, he said.

Since then Bangladesh has gradually been developing, the minister commented.

According to him, Bangladesh will not remain a lower income country anymore rather it will be a developed nation in future.

He hoped that Bangladesh will be a mid-income country by 2021.

Mentioning the ongoing turmoil in the country Tofail Ahmed said that the business communities are in extreme unrest condition due to the violent activities.

However, such violence and conspiracies will not be able to stop the development process of Bangladesh. The country will go forward skipping the challenges, he added.

Canadian High Commissioner in Dhaka Benoît-Pierre Laramée said that good governance, peace and democratization are required for socio-economic development in Bangladesh.

He also said that Bangladesh needs to develop infrastructure and energy supply to achieve its desired middle-income status by 2021.

The Canadian envoy said, “There are many opportunities for Bangladeshi and Canadian businesses to find mutually beneficial areas of cooperation and trade”.

FBCCI president Kazi Akram Uddin Ahmed, Bangladesh-Canada Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CanCham) president Masud Rahman among others also spoke in the seminar.

BDST: 1925 HRS, FEB 14, 2015