Seminar to popularise premium Bangladeshi tea brands in Spain held

Community News Desk: In a move to popularise Bangladeshi tea and diversify the export basket, the Bangladesh Embassy in Madrid organised a seminar entitled “Enhancing Spain-Bangladesh Trade and Investment Relations: Showcasing the Finest Bangladeshi Tea” at the Madrid Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Services in Madrid.

Held on Tuesday (7 Nov), the seminar was attended by a large number of prospective businesses and investors in Spain, Spanish dignitaries and leading members of the Madrid Chamber, including the President of the Madrid Chamber Ángel Asensio and the CEO of the London Tea Exchange Sheikh Aliur Rahman OBE, among others.

Given the Government’s due emphasis on the diversification of export basket, the seminar sought to advance Bangladesh’s bilateral commercial engagements with Spain through promoting and popularising Bangladeshi tea among local consumers, thereby celebrating the richness of the Bengali culture—and most importantly—deepening friendship and attachment with the Spanish public sphere.

In his welcome address, Bangladesh’s Ambassador to Spain Mohammad Sarwar Mahmood, ndc said, “Bangladesh is the second largest global exporter of apparels, next only to China. But what is less known to the European business community is the fact that Bangladesh has tremendous competitive advantages, untapped treasures and immense potential in some of the promising sectors that include tea, jute, leather, pharmaceuticals, agro-business, frozen sea foods, ceramic, ICT and light engineering.”

“Bangladesh produces some of the finest tea blends in the world. In Bangladesh, tea is an integral part of the culture and society. Elegant design and delicacy, ecological sustainability, health consciousness and hard work have made Bangladeshi teas stand out in taste and flavour, wherever they are taken. A good number of tea brands exported from Bangladesh have earned global acclaim,” he highlighted.

The Ambassador called upon Spanish intrapreneurs and investors to take a leap forward and visit Bangladesh to explore the endless opportunities the country has to offer to them.

Commercial Counsellor of the Embassy Redwan Ahmed gave a detailed presentation at the seminar and mentioned, “The Government of Bangladesh has prioritized Economic Diplomacy as one of the key determinants in its pursuit of Branding Bangladesh abroad. Bangladesh has implemented an enabling framework for foreign investment, enforced the ease of doing business and enacted one of the friendliest and most liberal investment regimes in the world.”

President of the Madrid Chamber Ángel Asensio, while addressing the seminar, encouraged the Spanish business community to take advantage of the huge opportunities for expansion of trade with Bangladesh beyond RMG and stressed proactive engagements between the private sectors of the two countries.

CEO of the London Tea Exchange Sheikh Aliur Rahman OBE discussed the evolution, growth, strength and global competitiveness of the Bangladesh tea industry and called for a concerted effort on the part of all stakeholders to have a better market penetration of the finest Bangladeshi tea brands in Europe.

At the end of the seminar, several premium quality Bangladeshi tea brands were showcased and gifted to and tasted by the guests.