For the past 17 months, Bangladeshi ambassador Saida Muna Tasneem has been promoting her country's rich cultural heritage in Thailand. It is now time to showcase the rest of the country at the Bangladesh Trade and Investment Expo 2016. Held at the Queen Sirikit National Convention Centre, May 30 to June 1, it will be a time for business matchmaking opportunities for both sides.
Apart from building business opportunities, Her Excellency hopes the event will serve as an opportunity for the public to erase any misconceptions they might have about her country. Despite being predominantly a Muslim nation, she said other religions live in peace and harmony with each other. She is confident Bangladesh's competitiveness in trade and investment is second to none in the region.
Dressed in an stunning pastel blue sari, the career diplomat came across as a women of substance. She is both articulate and direct in her conversation. Not one to mince her works, she broke a few moments of silence during the course of the interview to tell us that her priority from the very beginning was to make Bangladesh more known to Thais. This makes the Expo event, which is a befitting continuation from where she left off from promoting her country as a cultural destination, all the more relevant.
Ambassador Tasneem is eagerly looking forwards to the participation of 55 top Bangladeshi companies at the expo. She said despite both countries sharing 44 years of strong diplomatic relations, this is the first ever Bangladesh Trade and Investment Expo in the Kingdom. Thailand has for decades been exhibiting its products in Bangladesh, she said, but it has never been the other way round. It seems not fully being sold out on the idea of doing business in Thailand is one of the biggest reasons why Bangladesh took this long to initiate such an event.
However, better late than never. For Bangladesh will be showcasing at the expo all its globally acclaimed export product lines that are being exported mostly duty-free to the EU, US, Japan, Canada and Australia.
The Bangladeshi envoy remarked that most businesses in Thailand are not aware of Bangladesh's manufacturing capacities and globally acclaimed export market and so this event will be a unique opportunity to start creating awareness with both Thai businesses and Thai people.
A handful from a number of products that will be displayed at the expo include pharmaceuticals, ready-made garments, porcelain and bone china, leather products, silk and muslin fabric, organic tea, seafood, jute handicrafts, shipbuilding, electronics, light engineering and SME sectors.
Moreover, she could like to see Thai investors take a fresh look at investment opportunities and incentives in Bangladesh, especially in the energy, tourism and travel, agro-processing and textile sectors.
Speaking on the highlights of the event, Ambassador Tasneem, whose areas of expertise include multilateral issues such as international peace, counter-terrorism and more, remarked: "A special attraction at the expo will be 'The Threads of Heritage Show' on May 30, a heritage silk and muslin fashion show where celebrity Bangladesh and Thai designers will be using Thai and Bangladesh silk to design contemporary dresses and fabrics to speak of the ancient and contemporary cultural connectivity between our two neighbourhood countries.
"We are dedicating the heritage show to Her Majesty Queen Sirikit as a tribute to Her Majesty's contribution to promoting heritage silk in Thailand and to all the weavers from Thailand and Bangladesh who have kept our heritage looms alive.
"I am also happy to inform that designers would be designing dresses using silk from Chitralada Palace Silk Project Shop and 100% pure silk from Bangladesh."
Speaking on the logo of the event, she continued: ''Each of the elements in the logo has values and sentiments attached to it. The logo carries the symbol of our national monument in the centre that represents our secular progressive values of the War of Independence in 1971.
"The colours on the logo represent the vibrancy and diversity of our nations, especially its colourful, energetic and ambitious young generation. Bangladesh has a young population of about 60%. They are the agents of change to realise our Prime Minister's vision for transforming Bangladesh into a middle-income country by 2021. The map of Bangladesh on the right side of the monument is to let Thai people know our location. Thailand and Bangladesh are just two hours apart by air. Most people in Thailand do not know that we are located right next to Myanmar. On the left side of the logo is a picture of our national animal, the Royal Bengal Tiger. The Bengal Tiger is not only our national symbol but also our national pride. Symbolically, it represents Bangladesh as Asia's next emerging tiger on economic growth and manufacturing.''
Speaking about her passion for wearing her national dress, the sari, Ambassador Tasneem added: ''I am just keeping my demeanour, and this demeanour is very much with keeping up with my cultural heritage. I have a choice of dressing up in other clothes as well, but I chose to wear the sari. Bangladeshi women are identified with the sari, and that is why where I go I always wear it.
"My preference is for cotton because Bangladesh, like Thailand, is a hot country. So during the day, we wear cotton and in the evening, silk. I also pick pastel colours. I also try to match the colour of my sari with the occasion I am attending. We also have colour coordinated saris which I have developed a collection for."
