BFTI, ICDT sign MoU to boost trade, investment cooperation

The Bangladesh Foreign Trade Institute (BFTI) and the Islamic Centre for Development of Trade (ICDT) on Thursday signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to enhance cooperation in trade and investment.

The signing ceremony was held at the ICDT office in Casablanca, Morocco, according to a press release issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Bangladesh Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) MJH Jabed and ICDT Director General Latifa Elbouabdellaoui signed the agreement on behalf of their respective organisations.

Bangladesh Ambassador to Morocco Sadia Faizunnesa and senior ICDT officials were present.

During discussions prior to the signing, the Bangladesh side highlighted that expanding trade and attracting investment are key priorities of the government led by Prime Minister Tarique Rahman.

The delegation also requested ICDT to include different economic sectors of Bangladesh in its research and policy advocacy work, expressing hope that the MoU would facilitate exchange of ideas, professionals and institutional collaboration between the two organisations.

ICDT Director General Latifa Elbouabdellaoui appreciated Bangladesh’s initiative to sign the MoU, describing it as a “historic occasion”. She noted that Bangladesh is an active member of OIC platforms and a regular contributor to its organisations.

She said ICDT is considering including Bangladesh as a pilot country in different trade promotion initiatives, including designating Dhaka as a regional hub for trade and investment matchmaking.

She also said the ICDT country profile on Bangladesh would be updated soon and discussions would begin to implement a trade and investment country programme for 2026–27, covering branding, workshops and trade capacity building.

Both sides expressed hope that although the MoU is initially valid for two years, there will be scope to extend it in future with mutual consent.