Sheikh Fazle Fahim Elected President of D8 Chambers of Commerce and Industry

Sheikh Fazle Fahim will serve as the President of the Developing 8 Chamber of Commerce and Industry (D8 CCI) for the term of 2021-2023, marking the beginning of Bangladesh’s presidency over the D8 CCI for the first time. Sheikh Fazle Fahim officially assumed the role of president at the virtual D-8 Business Forum on the sideline of the D8 Summit 2021 on April 5, 2021. The forum was organized bythe Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry(FBCCI) in partnership with D8 CCI and Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey (TOBB).

Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dr. A K Abdul Momen was present as the chief guest at the occasion.  Tipu Munshi, Minister of Commerce; MD. Shahriar Alam, Minister of State; Ambassador Dato’ Ku Jaafar Ku Shaari, Secretary General of D-8;RuhsarPekcan, Minister of Trade of Turkey;Jerry Sambuaga, Deputy Minister of Trade of Indonesia;Rifat Hisarciklioğlu, President of TOBB and previous president of D8 CCI; Sonia Bashir Kabir, Founder SBK Tech Ventures & SBK Foundation; and Dr. Syed Ferhat Anwar,Director of Institute of Business Administration and Asian Center for Development, were present as special guests.

Congratulating Sheikh Fazle Fahim on his new role, Foreign Minister Dr. A K Abdul Momensaid, “The role of D8 CCI is crucial in forming economic integration to ensure economic development and revival, especially to combat the challenges of this ongoing global crisis. I believe D8 CCI, under the leadership of Sheikh Fazle Fahim, will aid intra-trade, investment opportunities and collaboration among D8 member states to facilitate overall economic growth and development.”

“The Government of Bangladesh along with D8 CCI, under the leadership of the new president, can overcome the challenges imposed by Covid 19 which are affecting all the D8 nations. Together, we will work towards enhancing trade, investments, entrepreneurship, tourism, strengthen MSMEs and other businesses among member states,” commented Tipu Munshi, Minister of Commerce.

State Minister Md. Shahriar Alam said, “ We remain steadfast in our commitment to facilitate b2b trade and investment among member states. The Government of Bangladesh is ready to provide full support to the D8 CCI and Mr. Fahim in sharing this important responsibility of boosting economic and social cooperation among member states.”

The Minister of Trade of Turkey and Deputy Minister of Trade of Indonesia also extended their congratulations and pledged their full cooperation and support to the new president.

Speaking of his new role, Sheikh Fazle Fahim said, “We are committed to improving connectivity and trade relations among our nations and reach the goal of high economic growth and prosperity. We reach out to our D8 members for support wherever applicable and look forward to our future engagements to drive impact among member states.”

President of TOBB, Rifat Hisarciklioğlu, who handed over the presidency, commented, “I am truly honored and pleased to hand over the presidency into his safe and capable hands. We will support the new president whenever it is necessary to strengthen the relationships among D-8 member states.”