Desk Report:
At the World Investment Forum 2026 in Doha, ‘Invest Bangladesh’ showcased the investment potential in Bangladesh, focusing on various projects within the infrastructure and manufacturing sectors. The session was attended by approximately 100 participants, including institutional investors, international financiers, and representatives from investment promotion agencies of various countries.
The session, titled “Invest in Bangladesh: The Billion-Dollar Opportunity Hiding in Plain Sight,” took place on the forum’s center stage on Monday, from 11:30 AM to 11:50 AM (Doha local time). This was a key engagement for ‘Invest Bangladesh’ at the forum—organized by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) and held from October 25–27.
Nahian Rahman Rachi, the member in charge of the Investment Promotion Division at ‘Invest Bangladesh’, delivered a presentation at the event. He highlighted how Bangladesh’s young workforce, competitive operational costs, and robust domestic market create significant investment opportunities. He also outlined ongoing initiatives to enhance investor services and infrastructure.
The presentation highlighted investment prospects in large-scale solar power projects on government-owned land, LNG infrastructure, the proposed Chittagong Free Trade Zone, port facilities, and the Matarbari Green Dockyard. Potential in sectors such as electronics, advanced technology-based textiles, and medical equipment was also discussed. The session further explained how developers, operators, investors, and financiers could participate in these projects.
Nahian Rahman Rachi stated, “Investors have expressed interest in learning how they can participate in the projects we presented. Partners have also shown keen interest in collaborating on economic zones, ports, and dry docks. These investments could not only meet Bangladesh’s domestic needs but also contribute to regional trade. We will continue our discussions with interested parties to explore how they can get involved in specific projects and how we can provide the necessary support.” During the forum, ‘Invest Bangladesh’ held bilateral meetings with potential investors. Today’s agenda also includes a roundtable discussion on how investment promotion agencies can enhance coordination among themselves.
On the first day of the forum, Ashik Chowdhury, Chairman of ‘Invest Bangladesh’, participated in a ministerial-level panel discussion focused on transforming energy transition priorities into bankable projects. He explained how the processes—identifying investors, preparing land, ensuring policy alignment, and structuring Public-Private Partnership (PPP) projects—have been integrated under a single, unified entity to advance renewable energy initiatives. He also addressed questions regarding the Sonagazi solar power PPP project—developed on underutilized government land—and the potential for replicating this model elsewhere. Currently, ‘Invest Bangladesh’ has 15 large-scale solar power projects in its pipeline, which are set to be advanced through Public-Private Partnerships (PPP) over the coming months.
In another ministerial-level roundtable discussion on investment, the Chairman of ‘Invest Bangladesh’ urged for greater emphasis on the developmental impact of investments in emerging economies. He suggested that UNCTAD could more actively highlight successful investment examples from Bangladesh. Furthermore, he proposed that the organization consider mechanisms for sharing investment risks, drawing upon models such as investment guarantees and export credit schemes.
