On Sunday, January 19, Interim Government Chief Adviser Professor Dr. Muhammad Yunus called for strengthening Bangladesh-Argentina football ties to boost bilateral trade cooperation. The appeal was made during his meeting with Argentine Ambassador to Bangladesh, Marcelo Sosa, at the state guesthouse Jamuna in Dhaka.

Highlighting the overwhelming support for Argentina’s football team among Bangladeshis, Dr. Yunus noted the emotional bond between the two nations and suggested utilizing it to foster collaborations in other areas. He encouraged Argentine investors to explore opportunities in Bangladesh’s cotton-based industries through single or joint ventures.

Ambassador Sosa mentioned the unexplored potential for cooperation between the two nations and requested Bangladesh to consider opening an embassy in Buenos Aires. He emphasized leveraging the strong relationship for mutual benefit.

The ambassador also noted Bangladesh’s $700 million trade deficit with Argentina and expressed interest in balancing it by increasing imports from Bangladesh. Currently, Bangladesh imports soybean, wheat, corn, raw cotton, and other goods from Argentina, while Argentina imports about $2.2 million worth of Bangladeshi garments annually.

Dr. Yunus stressed cooperation in cotton, joint ventures, pharmaceuticals, textiles, football (including women’s football), microcredit, LNG, and rice disease research. Additionally, the ambassador sought Bangladesh’s support in introducing microcredit in Argentina.

The meeting was attended by SDG Chief Coordinator Lamia Morshed and officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, according to BSS.