SINGAPORE - Singapore and Bangladesh have inked an agreement to strengthen cooperation on trade and investment in areas such as renewable energy.

Minister-in-charge of Trade Relations S. Iswaran and Bangladesh Minister of Commerce Tipu Munshi signed a memorandum of cooperation on trade and investment (MCTI) during Mr Iswaran’s trip to the South Asian nation on Nov 15 to 17, said the Ministry of Trade and Industry on Friday.

Under this new collaboration, a working group – comprising senior officials from both countries – will be established to identify initiatives in areas such as renewable energy, logistics, trade facilitation and standards, to increase trade and investment flows.

Calling the MCTI a significant milestone in the economic cooperation between the two countries, Mr Iswaran added that the new memorandum would help Singapore companies diversify their markets by tapping the strong growth potential of Bangladesh, which is expected to be among the 30 largest economies in the world by 2030.

Bangladesh is a fast-growing market, with economic growth averaging 6 per cent to 7 per cent between 2011 and 2021.

“We look forward to partnering Bangladesh in areas of mutual interest and strengthening our bilateral economic relationship,” said Mr Iswaran, who is also Transport Minister. He added that several Singapore companies have already set up a base in Bangladesh to pursue opportunities there.

During his visit, Mr Iswaran also called on Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and met other officials including private industry and investment adviser to the Prime Minister, Mr Salman F. Rahman, and State Minister of Information and Communication Technology Zunaid Palak.

Meanwhile, delegates on a business mission jointly organised by Enterprise Singapore and the Singapore Business Federation met officials from various government organisations. The delegates were also hosted by Bangladesh businesses and start-up accelerators and visited various sites across Dhaka.