<div><span style="font-size: 1rem;"><b>Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Saturday urged the country's businesspeople to develop new products and find new markets for exports utilising their innovative ideas.</b></span><br></div><div><br></div><div>“Government is always beside you,” she said.</div><div><br></div><div>The prime minister said this while addressing the opening of the 'Business Conference on Building Smart Bangladesh' at the Bangabandhu International Conference Center (BICC).</div><div><br></div><div>The Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI), the apex trade organization of the country, organised the three-day conference focusing on the private sector's role in building Smart Bangladesh.</div><div><br></div><div>Foreign investors, top corporates, sector-based associations, and top business leaders, general body (GB) members from chambers and associations of FBCCI joined the conference.</div><div><br></div><div>Hasina said that Awami League never judges businesspeople by their political affiliation.</div><div><br></div><div>“Political affiliation of the businessmen is not important to us. We always think about the welfare of the people of the country,” she said.</div><div><br></div><div>In this regard, she mentioned that irrespective of the political affiliation the government gives scope to all which is beneficial for the people of the country.</div><div><br></div><div>Commerce Minister Tipu Munshi, Prime Minister's Private Industry and Investment Adviser Salman Fazlur Rahman were present on the dais while the FBCCI President Md. Jashim Uddin delivered the welcome speech at the programme.</div><div><br></div><div>Former FBCCI presidents Yousuf Abdullah Harun, Abdul Matlub Ahmad, Mir Nasir Hossain and Kazi Akram Uddin, National Association of Small and Cottage Industries of Bangladesh (NASCIB) Mirza Nurul Ghani Shovon, Bangladesh Association of International Recruiting Agencies (BAIRA) Mohammad Abul Basher, Bangladesh Association of Software and Information Services (BASIS) President Russell T. Ahmed, Bangladesh Dokan Malik Samity President Helal Uddin, chairman of Akij Jute Mills Limited Sheikh Nasir Uddin, president of Bangladesh Chamber of Industries (BCI) Anwar-ul Alam Chowdhury (Parvez), Pran Group Chairman Ahsan Khan Chowdhury, Former Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce and Industry President Nihad Kabir, Chittagong Women Chamber of Commerce &amp; Industry (CWCCI) President Monowara Hakim Ali, Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce and Industry President, Mr. Md.Saiful Islam, Bangladesh Association of Pharmaceutical Industries (BAPI) senior vice president Abdul Muktadir, Bangladesh Textile Mills Association (BTMA) President Mohammad Ali, Meghna Group Chairman Mustafa Kamal, Chief Executive Officer of HSBC Bank Md Mahbub ur Rahman, Foreign Investors’ Chamber of Commerce &amp; Industry (FICCI) President Naser Ezaz Bijoy, Bangladesh Women Chamber of Commerce &amp; Industry (BWCCI) President Selima Ahmad, Japan Bangladesh Chamber of Commerce and Industry president Myung-Ho Lee, Regional Head, Bangladesh, and Pakistan Inditex Javier Carlos Santonja Olcina, Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) president Faruque Hassan, Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA) AKM Salim Osman, Bengal Group chairman Morshed Alam, former FBCCI presidebt AK Azad, President of the Leather-goods and Footwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association of Bangladesh (LFMEAB) Syed Nasim Manzur, Bankers' Association president M Nazrul Islam, Chairman Bashundhara Group Akbar Sobhan, President of International Chamber of Commerce, Bangladesh (ICC) Mahbubhr Rahman, Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry President Barrister Md Sameer Sattar, FBCCI Vice President Mostafa Azad Chowdhury Babu and Chattagram Chamber of Commerce of Industry President Mahbubul Alam spoke from the business community.</div><div><br></div><div>Earlier, The PM unveiled the report prepared on the outcome of Bangladesh Business Summit-2023.</div><div><br></div><div>At the outset of the conference, a theme song on FBCCI’s 50 years and its contribution to the country’s economy and development during this journey was played. An audio-visual on the outcome of Bangladesh Business Summit-2023 was also screened. According to UNB reports&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>