AmCham seeks energy security roadmap to draw $5 billion in US investment

To attract $5 billion in private foreign investment from the United States to Bangladesh over the next four years, the government needs to draw up a specific and practical plan for energy security, the American Chamber of Commerce in Bangladesh (AmCham) has said.

According to the organisation, if uninterrupted energy supply to industry can be guaranteed, not only the United States but top investors from other countries as well will be encouraged to invest capital in Bangladesh.

Business leaders expressed the view at a pre-show press conference for the '30th US Trade Show 2026', held on Monday at Hotel InterContinental in the capital.

At the press conference, AmCham president Syed Mohammad Kamal said work is under way on an outline to secure five billion dollars of US investment in four years, and that, as part of it, successive delegations from the United States are coming and preparing the ground in various sectors.

He said that if a clear roadmap on energy security is obtained at state level, foreign investors' confidence will increase many times over, and that will also open the door to investment from other international sources.

The press conference also unveiled details of the three-day US Trade Show, to be held at Hotel InterContinental from 5 November. Organised as part of celebrations of three decades of commercial partnership between Bangladesh and the United States, the fair is sponsored by the US Embassy in Dhaka.

At the exhibition, 43 international and local organisations will present their products and technology through 63 booths. For the first time, separate sector-based zones have been set up for subjects including power and energy, information technology and the digital economy, banking and finance, consumer goods, manufacturing, education and agriculture. There will also be a startup zone for new entrepreneurs, a carnival zone for direct shopping, and a heritage corner arranged around memories of three decades of commercial ties.

The organisers said six specialised seminars will be held during the exhibition on the sustainable transformation of industry and the prospects for expanding bilateral trade. Around 15,000 visitors are expected over the three days.

National Parliament Speaker Hafiz Uddin Ahmad, Environment and Climate Change Minister Abdul Awal Mintu and US Ambassador to Dhaka Brent T Christensen are expected to attend the exhibition's opening ceremony as chief guests.

Also present at the press conference were US Embassy commercial counsellor Paul Frost, AmCham vice-president Ala Uddin and treasurer Reza Ur Rahman Mahmud.