The 35th ATPF CEO Meeting was held in Dhaka, Bangladesh on October 19

October 19, 2022

The theme was "Challenges and Way forward of the TPOs in the New Trade Age”. As the host of the meeting, Vice Chairman of the Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) of Bangladesh, A.H.M. Ahsan expressed great expectations that the lively discussions that could only take place face-to-face would lead to stronger economic partnerships and increased trade and investment among ATPF member countries and regions. Minister of Commerce Tipu Munshi was the guest of honor at the opening ceremony, where he spoke about Bangladesh's rapid development and attractive business investment environment and noted the important role of the ATPF in the economic development of the Asian region. JETRO's theme was human resource development, and JETRO Chairman Sasaki Nobuhiko introduced a series of online training sessions extensively concentrated on strategy building for exporting and documentation skills for effective verbal communication for small and medium-sized enterprises, university collaboration and the IDEAS program, based on the idea that one important role of a trade promotion organization is to identify and support the development of human resources needed to keep up with rapidly changing social and business trends.

In addition, the Australian Trade and Investment Promotion Agency (AUSTRADE), General Department of Trade Promotion (GDTP) of the Ministry of Commerce of Cambodia, Trade Development Authority of Pakistan (TDAP), Taipei World Trade Center (TWTC) and Department of International Trade Promotion (DITP) of the Ministry of Commerce of the Government of Thailand introduced their efforts at promoting DX. In comments, participants stated that "various changes are required in order to constantly adapt to new business models," and that "it is important to find a balance between real and online business support for companies in the future.”

The program also included an introduction to Bangladesh's business potential, tourism resources and culture, as well as factory tours and discussions with leading local companies. With the country scheduled to graduate from its status as a Least Developed Country (LDC) in 2026, this was an opportunity to reaffirm its growing attractiveness as a market and manufacturing base.