International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), The world business organization, with its headquarters in Paris, celebrated its Centenary world over in 2019. ICC, with physical presence in more than 100 countries, represents 45 million companies and more than 1 billion workers worldwide. One in every three worker depend on ICC Members for their livelihood.
ICC was founded in 1919 in the aftermath of the First World War when no world system of rules governed trade, investment, finance or commercial relations. ICC’s founders, referred to as “The Merchants of Peace”, acted on their conviction that building stronger trade relations between nations would reduce the risk of war and armed conflict. ICC, is the largest and the only private sector non-sovereign organization, which was granted Status of a Permanent Observer at the General Assembly of the United Nations in December 2016.
ICC works in close cooperation with national governments and multi-national institutions such as G-8/G-20, World Bank, WTO, Asian Development Bank, UNCTAD, OECD and several UN agencies for promotion, protection and development of world economy.
Bangladesh National Committee of ICC, founded in 1994, is comprised of trade organizations, national and trans-national corporations, who represent almost 80% Bangladesh economy.
The activities of ICC Bangladesh include promotion of foreign trade and investment, trade policy reviews, business dialogues, seminars & workshops both at home and abroad on related policy issues, harmonization of trade law & rules, legal reforms, updating businesses with the ICC rules & standards for cross border business transactions. ICC Bangladesh has so far organized following regional & international conferences.
10-11 November 2000: ICC Asia Conference on “Investment in Developing Countries: Increasing Opportunities” organized in Dhaka was inaugurated by the Prime Minister of Bangladesh and attended by a number of high profile dignitaries including the Thai Deputy Prime Minister & WTO Director General Designate, ADB President, UN-ESCAP Executive Secretary and Chinese Vice Minister for Foreign Trade & Economic Cooperation. More than 250 participants from 24 countries participated in this event.
17-18 January 2004: International Conference on “Global Economic Governance and Challenges of Multilateralism” was held in Dhaka, coinciding with 10th Anniversary of ICC Bangladesh. The Conference was inaugurated by the Prime Minister of Bangladesh and Thai Prime Minister was the Keynote Speaker. WTO Director General, EU Commissioner for Trade, UNESCAP Executive Secretary, Governor of Japan Bank for International Cooperation, six Ministers from three continents, Bangladesh Ministers, ICC Chairman, ICC Vice Chairman, ICC Secretary General and more than 500 participants from 38 countries attended this event.
27-28 September 2005: Regional Seminar on “Capital Market Development: Asian Experience”. The Seminar held in Dhaka was inaugurated by the President of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh and attended by Chairmen/CEOs of securities & exchange commissions, stock exchanges, capital market operators, financial institutions and investors from 15 Asian countries.
13 April 2010: Conference on “Energy for Growth” was held in Dhaka coinciding with the 15 years of ICC’s presence in Bangladesh. The Conference was inaugurated by the Finance Minister of Bangladesh and attended by ICC Global Chairman, Minister for Commerce of Bangladesh, Minister for Development Cooperation of Denmark and Adviser to the Bangladesh Prime Minister for Energy & Mineral Resources. Some 800 delegates from home and abroad including energy experts and international financiers from Australia, China, Denmark, India, Germany, Japan, Singapore, Switzerland, UK and USA attended the event.
25-26 October 2014: International Conference on “Global Economic Recovery: Asian Perspective”, was in held in Dhaka coinciding with the 20 years of ICC’s presence in Bangladesh. The Conference was inaugurated by the President of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh. Minister for Finance & Minister for Commerce of Bangladesh, UNCTAD Secretary General, Ministers from Myanmar and Nepal; ICC Vice Chairman; ICC Secretary General; ICC Research Foundation Chairman; Director of ICC National Committees and more than 500 participants attended this event.
8-9 February 2017 : The first ever “UNESCAP Asia Pacific Business Forum: Regional Integration to Achieve Sustainable Development” was organized by ICC Bangladesh jointly with UNESCAP under the patronage of the Ministry of Commerce, Government of Bangladesh. The Forum was inaugurated by the Hon’ble President of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh. Ministers from Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, UNESCAP Under Secretary General, UNCTAD Secretary General, business leaders and some 600 delegates from home and abroad attended the Forum.
10-12 December 2019 : “The Asia Pacific Conference on Financing inclusive and Sustainable Development” was organized by ICC Bangladesh jointly with UNESCAP, ADB and LIBF (The London Institute of Banking & Finance) under the patronage of the Financial Institutions Division (FID), Ministry of Finance, Government of Bangladesh to celebrate 100 years of ICC and 25 years of ICC Bangladesh. The Hon’ble President of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh inaugurated the Conference. Video Messages from UN Secretary General Mr. António Guterres and 8th former United Nations Secretary General Mr. Ban-Ki moon were also played during the inauguration. Ministers from Bangladesh, Cambodia, Maldives and Sri Lanka, Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations and Executive Secretary of ESCAP, Central Bank Governors, Business Leaders, Policy Makers, Experts and some 800 delegates from home and 30 foreign countries attended the Conference.
As part of its activities, ICC Bangladesh has been organizing Workshops/ Seminars on International Trade Finance, mainly for bankers, within Bangladesh and in various countries. Since 2014, the National Committee has organized workshops in Kuala Lumpur (April 2014); in Colombo (February 2015); in Kunming (August 2015); in Yangon (November 2015); in Hanoi (April 2016); in Bangkok (December 2017) and in Phnom Penh (April 2018).
The National Committee also arranged participation of Bankers from Bangladesh at ICC Annual Banking Meetings held in Singapore (April 2015), in Jakarta (April 2017) and in Beijing (April 2019). Besides, ICC Bangladesh arranged participation of Bankers at ICC Austria Global Trade Conference held in Vienna in May 2017, June 2018 and May 2019, FCI Annual Meeting in Vietnam (June 2019), ICC Academy 8th Supply Chain Summit in Singapore (February 2019), International Financial Crime Forum in Kuala Lumpur (July 2019) and World Conference on Banking Institutions (WCBI) organized by London Institute of Banking and Finance (LIBF) in London (September 2019).
For professional development of bankers, ICC Bangladesh also organizes Certified Documentary Credit Specialist (CDCS) and Certificate for Specialists in Demand Guarantees (CSDG) Examinations in Dhaka, conducted worldwide every year by LIBF (London Institute of Banking and Finance) and endorsed by ICC Paris.
ICC Bangladesh participates at World Chambers Congress of ICC and World Chambers Federation (WCF), ICC World Council, WTO Ministerial Meetings, Meetings of ICC Permanent Heads, ICC Banking Commission and ICC Asia Pacific Regional Consultative Group Meetings. The National Committee also arranges visit by Bangladesh Business delegation to different countries for promotion of trade and investment.