Shipping advisor Brigadier General (retd.) called for the establishment of direct shipping communication between Bangladesh and Norway. M Sakhawat Hossain. Norwegian Ambassador to Bangladesh Håkon Arald Gulbrandsen made this call during a meeting with the advisor at the Ministry of Shipping on Sunday (November 10, 2024 AD).

The advisor said that Chittagong port is the golden gateway of the country’s economy. The important export destinations from Bangladesh are European Union countries. The government has been successfully conducting maritime trade with the outside world through Chittagong port and other sea ports.

Mentioning that the export of various Bangladeshi products, especially RMG (Readymade Garments) products to the European Union market is continuously increasing, the advisor said that the export of various Bangladeshi products to Norway has also increased at a noticeable rate in recent times. Bangladesh regularly imports various products from other European Union countries including Norway. RMG products of Bangladesh have already taken a significant place in the Norwegian market.

Currently, it takes 40 to 45 days or more for cargo to reach European Union countries from Chittagong port through transshipment. If direct shipping is established in Norway, it is possible to reach goods from Chittagong to any port in Norway within 15 days. It will take less than 18 to 23 days on average. This will significantly reduce the freight cost. Therefore, the shipping advisor emphasized the need to sign a special shipping agreement between Bangladesh and Norway in this regard.

Ambassador of Norway Haakon Arald Gulbrandsen welcomed the adviser’s proposal and said that the two countries have a long history of mutual relations, development cooperation and commercial relations. Various Norwegian companies are interested in working in Bangladesh in other sectors including ship industry. The Ambassador informed the Adviser that he had visited Chittagong port last week.

The advisor thanked the ambassador for visiting Chittagong port and urged him to visit Mongla, Payra and other ports as well. The advisor also said that the Bangladesh government, like the Norwegian government, is also working to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the sea. For this purpose automation process is being introduced to bring ports under digitization. The advisor expressed hope that the Norwegian government would help to convert the ports of Bangladesh into green ports.

The Norwegian ambassador assured Bangladesh of all kinds of cooperation from the Norwegian government in all these matters. He expressed interest in investing in ship electrification and other fields including construction of shipping lighthouses. The advisor expects Norway’s support for Bangladesh in the upcoming IMO elections in 2025.

At that time, Secretary of Textile and Jute Ministry, Md. Abdur Rauf, Acting Secretary of Shipping Ministry, Delwara Begum, senior officials of the Ministry were present.