The vice-president of the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI) said in Dhaka on Monday that his country and Mozambique have the opportunity to improve bilateral trade relations.

In addition to trade relations in the agriculture and tourism sectors, MA Momen predicted that Bangladesh will be able to import gas from Mozambique, which could create a more robust economic partnership.

Quoted by Dailystar, Mostofa Azad Chowdhury Babu, senior vice-president of the FBCCI, said that his country's presence on the African continent was due to peacekeeping. However, the intentions are to "increase commercial ties with the southern economic bloc" by strengthening trade and investment.

For his part, the Director General for Asia and Oceania at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, José Matsinhe, who led the five-member Mozambican delegation, acknowledged the existence of potential in economic relations between the countries.

"We're here in Bangladesh to see what areas we can both work on. We can get experience from Bangladesh in strategic areas of mutual interest. We have a lot of land and a lot of water in Mozambique, but we lack expertise," he said.

Bangladesh will be able to set up factories for clothing, leather goods, pharmaceuticals, frozen seafood, plastic products, ceramics, household appliances and others, which are leading the way in economic diversification.