Dhaka: Industries Minister Amir Hossain Amu, now in India, has urged Indian entrepreneurs to invest in Bangladesh's petroleum and petro-chemical sector.

The minister made the call on Thursday while addressing a roundtable arranged in the 'Ninth India 2016 Global Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) Forum' on chemical and petro-chemical in Mumbai, said a handout here on Friday.

Indian Chemicals and Petro-Chemicals Department and the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) jointly organised the three-day forum at Mumbai Exhibition Centre from Thursday.

Amu said the demand for energy is on the rise for socio-economic development and sustainable industrialisation in Bangladesh. Once Bangladesh had the annual demand for only 1.1 trillion tonnes of petroleum products, but it has now increased to 5 trillion tonnes.

Investment in Bangladesh will be highly profitable due to the growing demand for energy, he said.

The minister stressed the need for boosting the generation of renewable energy reducing the production of traditional energy to promote the green industrialisation.

Bangladesh has already an increased generation of solar energy as an alternative source of power at the grassroots level. The government is also working to set up liquefied natural gas (LNG) plants and coal-fired power plants to address the power demand in the country, he added.

Amu said Bangladesh has already turned as an investment hub for foreign entrepreneurs due to its geographical location. The government is providing equal facilities for both local and foreign investors, he added.

A five-member Bangladeshi delegation, led by Amir Hossain Amu, jointed the roundtable moderated by Chairman of the FICCI's National Chemicals Committee Deepak C Mehta.

Indian Minister of Chemicals and Fertilisers and Parliamentary Affairs Ananth Kumar, State Minister for Chemicals and Fertilisers, Road Transport and Highways and Shipping Mansukh L Mandaviya, Industries Minister of Orissa of India Debi Prasad Mishra, among others, addressed the event.