Bangladesh’s investment climate initiatives recognised at UNCTAD commission

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Bangladesh’s initiatives to improve its investment climate were highlighted as a model of reform implementation at the 16th session of the Investment, Enterprise and Development Commission, convened by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) in Geneva.

The commission examined how developing economies are recalibrating investment policy amid a global environment reshaped by geopolitical tensions and shifting supply chains. Bangladesh and Tunisia were featured as country examples, with their initiatives and achievements discussed as useful models for other developing economies.

Representing Bangladesh, Nahian Rahman Rochi, executive member of Invest Bangladesh, highlighted the country’s focus on delivery.

He said, “Improving the investment climate requires removing practical barriers, such as speeding up security clearances, simplifying foreign financing, clarifying capital repatriation, expanding digital services and improving government coordination.

“Last year, we made these commitments public, tracked progress and published the results. This year, we are following a 180-day plan and will soon publish the results. This discipline is as important as the reforms themselves,” he added.

UNCTAD’s Report on the Implementation of the Investment Policy Review of Bangladesh provided the basis for the discussion on Bangladesh.

The report assessed progress since the country’s original Investment Policy Review in 2013 and noted improvements in regulatory processes, institutional coordination, digital investor services and investment promotion capacity.

UNCTAD’s World Investment Report 2026 provided further evidence of Bangladesh’s position in the global investment landscape. UNCTAD specifically named Bangladesh among the small number of least developed economies receiving greenfield investment last year.

According to the Bangladesh Bank, Bangladesh’s net FDI reached $1.77 billion in 2025, up 39.36% from the previous year.

The report also cited Bangladesh among the countries that eased foreign-exchange restrictions in 2025—one of the measures identified by UNCTAD as improving conditions for foreign investors.

Bangladesh has also merged the Bangladesh Investment Development Authority, the Bangladesh Economic Zones Authority and the Public-Private Partnership Authority to create Invest Bangladesh, bringing investment facilitation, economic zones and public-private partnerships under one institution.

The initiative passed in parliament was taken to provide investors with a simpler and more coordinated institutional framework; it also fulfilled a recommendation of UNCTAD’s Investment Policy Review.