Indian Business Delegation Led by CII Arrives in Dhaka for Trade and Investment Talks

Dhaka, August 17, 2026 — A high-level 18-member Indian business delegation arrived in Bangladesh on Monday for a two-day visit as part of efforts to expand trade and investment between the two neighbouring countries. The delegation, led by Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) Director General Chandrajit Banerjee, includes senior executives from some of India's largest conglomerates — spanning pharmaceuticals, consumer goods, infrastructure, textiles, and healthcare sectors.

👥 The 18-Member Delegation

The delegation represents a cross-section of Indian industry leaders:

• 🏛️ Chandrajit Banerjee — Director General, Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) (delegation leader)
• 🏭 Rakesh Swami — Group President, Godrej Industries
• 💊 Suchitra K. Ella — Co-founder and Managing Director, Bharat Biotech International Ltd.
• 🚧 Vinayak Chatterjee — Founder and Managing Trustee, The Infravision
• 👕 Param Shah — Chief Executive Officer, Arvind Ltd.
• 🏭 PJ Rajesh — Chief Operating Officer, LMW Global
• 🏭 Rajesh Gupta — Regional Head, Mahindra Group
• 🛍️ Krishna Khatwani — South Asia Head, Godrej Consumer Products
• 🏭 Deepak Sharma — Group Head (International Operations), Forbes Marshall
• 💚 MS Guru Prasad — Group Head (International Operations), Apollo Hospitals
• 👥 Plus 7 additional delegates — from various Indian companies

The sector diversity of the delegation — pharmaceuticals, consumer goods, infrastructure, textiles, engineering, and healthcare — signals India's interest in exploring multiple investment and trade opportunities across Bangladesh's economy.

📜 Meeting Agenda

During the two-day visit, the delegation will hold meetings with senior Bangladesh policymakers and business leaders:

• 🏛️ Prime Minister Tarique Rahman — highest-level meeting
• 💰 Finance Minister Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury — economic policy discussion
• 🤝 Commerce Minister Khandaker Abdul Muktadir — trade policy and bilateral commerce
• 🏢 Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI) — apex business body meeting on Tuesday
• 🏢 Bangladesh Investment Development Authority (BIDA) — investment facilitation meeting on Tuesday

Senior Bangladeshi business leaders are expected to attend the FBCCI meeting, providing a platform for direct B2B engagement between Indian and Bangladeshi industry leaders.

📊 Bangladesh-India Trade Context

The delegation's visit comes at a time of both opportunity and strain in the bilateral trade relationship:

• 💰 $12 billion annual trade — total bilateral trade between Bangladesh and India
• 📉 $2 billion exports — Bangladesh's exports to India
• 📈 $10 billion deficit — Bangladesh imports significantly more from India
• 🚧 Port restrictions — Indian restrictions on use of seaports and land ports have disrupted trade
• 🤝 FBCCI-CCPIT parallel engagement — Chinese delegation also visited FBCCI same day

Bangladesh's trade has been disrupted by Indian restrictions on the use of its seaports and land ports — creating friction in the bilateral trade relationship that the delegation's visit may help address.

🏛️ Key Sectors for Bilateral Collaboration

The delegation composition suggests several sectors where Indian companies see investment and partnership opportunities in Bangladesh:

• 💊 Pharmaceuticals and biotech — Bharat Biotech's presence signals vaccine and biotech interest
• 🛍️ Consumer goods — Godrej and Arvind looking at market expansion
• 🚧 Infrastructure — The Infravision's Vinayak Chatterjee exploring PPP opportunities
• 👕 Textiles — Arvind Ltd's CEO exploring textile supply chain collaboration
• 🏭 Engineering and manufacturing — Mahindra Group and LMW Global seeking industrial partnerships
• 💚 Healthcare — Apollo Hospitals exploring medical service expansion

🌐 Strategic Context: India-Bangladesh Economic Engagement

The Indian delegation's visit is the latest in a series of high-level economic engagements between Bangladesh and its neighbours. Earlier in August, a US business delegation visited Dhaka, and a Chinese CCPIT delegation met with FBCCI on the same day as this Indian visit. The sequence of visits reflects Bangladesh's growing attractiveness as an investment destination — and the competition among major economies for influence in the country's rapidly expanding market.

For Bangladesh, the Indian delegation's visit offers several opportunities:

• 🤝 Address port restrictions — raise trade disruption issues directly with Indian industry leaders
• 💰 Attract Indian FDI — Indian companies investing in Bangladesh reduces bilateral tension
• 📈 Export diversification — explore opportunities to increase Bangladeshi exports to India
• 🏭 Joint ventures — collaborate on pharmaceuticals, textiles, consumer goods manufacturing
• 🚢 Transit and connectivity — discuss port access and transit fee arrangements

The visit also follows the diplomatic engagement around PM Tarique Rahman's potential India visit — with Indian MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal confirming that invitations have been extended for both a bilateral visit and the BRICS Summit outreach. The business delegation's visit may help create the “conducive environment” that Dhaka has called for as a precondition for improving bilateral relations.

💼 Significance of the Delegation Members

Several delegation members represent companies with significant relevance to Bangladesh's export economy:

• 💊 Bharat Biotech — major vaccine manufacturer, potential collaboration in pharma API and vaccine production
• 👕 Arvind Ltd. — one of India's largest textile and apparel companies, potential denim and fabric supply chain collaboration
• 🏭 Mahindra Group — automotive, farm equipment, and IT conglomerate, potential EV and tractor manufacturing JV
• 🏭 Godrej Industries — consumer goods, real estate, and agri-business, potential FMCG and agro-processing investment
• 💚 Apollo Hospitals — healthcare chain, potential medical tourism and hospital management collaboration

For Bangladesh's export community, the presence of textile (Arvind), pharma (Bharat Biotech), and consumer goods (Godrej) executives is particularly significant — as these sectors represent both competition and collaboration opportunities for Bangladeshi manufacturers in the post-LDC era.