Bangladesh’s Investment Policy Praised at UN Session

Bangladesh’s various initiatives to improve its investment environment have been praised at the 16th session of the UNCTAD Commission on Investment, Enterprise and Development, held in Geneva, Switzerland.

Invest Bangladesh disclosed the information in a statement on Thursday (September 3) evening.

Nahian Rahman Rochi, Executive Member of Invest Bangladesh, represented Bangladesh at the session and highlighted the country’s implementation-focused approach to improving its investment climate on the international stage.

He said emphasis had been placed on expediting security clearances, simplifying foreign financing mechanisms, establishing clear procedures for capital repatriation, expanding digital services and strengthening coordination among government agencies to facilitate investment. Progress on commitments publicly announced last year has been closely monitored, with the results also made public. A special 180-day action plan is currently being implemented, with its outcomes to be disclosed soon. He described this practice of institutional accountability as equally important as the development initiatives themselves.

Discussions on Bangladesh at the commission’s session were based primarily on the UN’s Report on the Implementation of the Investment Policy Review of Bangladesh. The report assesses progress in implementing recommendations from Bangladesh’s first Investment Policy Review, published in 2013.

In particular, the international community has recognized progress in simplifying regulatory processes, strengthening institutional coordination, expanding digital investment services and enhancing the country’s capacity to promote investment.

Meanwhile, Bangladesh’s position in the global investment landscape is also reflected in the UNCTAD World Investment Report 2026. According to the report, Bangladesh has been identified as one of the few least developed countries that managed to attract greenfield investment despite challenging global conditions.

According to the latest Bangladesh Bank data, net foreign direct investment (FDI) in Bangladesh increased by 39.36 percent to $1.77 billion in 2025. The UNCTAD report also noted that steps to ease various foreign-exchange restrictions have made the investment climate more dynamic for global investors.

To make investor services more streamlined and coordinated, the Bangladesh government recently merged the Bangladesh Investment Development Authority (BIDA), Bangladesh Economic Zones Authority (BEZA) and Public-Private Partnership Authority (PPPA) to form a single institutional framework, Invest Bangladesh. As a result, investment facilitation, economic zone management and public-private partnership matters are now being handled under a single agency.