Bangladesh prominent conglomerates, Meghna Group of Industries (MGI), won one of the the prestigious Primaduta Awards 2018 conferred by the Government of the Republic of Indonesia for promoting trade between the Indonesia and Bangladesh.
The Awards were symbolically presented by the President of Indonesia HE Mr Joko Widodo during the opening ceremony of the 33rd Trade Expo Indonesia in Jakarta on 24 October 2018 and was received by the Indonesian Ambassadors on behalf of the buyers, importers, distributors and selling agents who were the winners.
In a beatiful simple ceremony at the Embassy of Indonesia in Dhaka, the Indonesian Ambassador for Bangladesh H.E. Ms Rina Soemarno officially handed over the Primaduta Award to Mr. Mostafa Kamal, Chairman of MGI. She expressed that the Award is an appreciation from the Indonesian Government for the company’s strong commitment on importing Indonesian products for many years with a significant growth every year.
“MGI has been importing refined palm oil, hardwood pulp, and clinker from Indonesia for many years, the volume and value of each product increases every year,” the Indonesian Ambassador said. MGI is a loyal and significant buyer of Indonesian products. The trade with MGI makes up a substantial part of the total trade volume between Indonesia and Bangladesh every year. “The total trade between Indonesia and Bangladesh in 2017 amounted to USD 1.67 billion. Of that amount, MGI contributed about one third,” the Ambassador discloses.
“I sincerely thank Mr. Mostafa Kamal and the Board of Directors of MGI for continuously strengthening the import performance with Indonesian exporter and supplier for many years. The Primaduta Award is a token of apreciation from the Government of Indonesia to MGI,” Ambassador Rina Soemarno said.
She expressed the hope that the Award served as a motivation for MGI and other Bangladeshi companies to increase their imports from Indonesia and maintain a strong relationship with their Indonesian partners. The ceremony to present the Primaduta Award 2018 to Meghna Group of Industries was attended by dozens of Bangladeshi businesspeople, government officials, and the media.
The Primaduta Award is one of the Indonesian Government`s programs to boost the growth of Indonesian exports to global markets. During the ceremonial Primaduta Award dinner, Ambassador Rina express the hope that fellow Bangladeshi buyers would be committed to improving their value of import on Indonesian products and be selected to be awarded the Primaduta Award in the coming years.
During her remarks, Ambassador Rina shares that the trade relations between Indonesia-Bangladesh continues to grow. In 2017, the two countries’ trade volume reached an all time high of USD 1.67 billion. In August of 2018 the trade volume have reached USD 1.34 billion, a growth of almost 28% compared to the same period last year. This indicates that demands for Indonesian products in Bangladesh are growing and robust.
The Government of Indonesia in 2018 awarded 42 buyers from 24 countries in recognition of their roles in boosting their country’s trade with Indonesia . The Awards were conferred during Trade Expo Indonesia 2018, the largest B to B Exhibition in Indonesia. The 33rd TEI was held on 24-28 October 2018 in ICE BSD in Tangerang City, near Jakarta, carried the theme “Creating Products for Global Opportunities” to promote quality products made in Indonesia for the global market.
