The Friends of Bangladesh, Dhaka chapter has invited businessmen, artists and writers of the country to participate in the 35th North American Bengali Conference (NABC) scheduled to be held in 2015.

NABC is a three-day conference which is held annually in North America to celebrate Bengali culture. In 2015, it will be held in Houston from, as per its website, July 10 to 12 with the theme "Celebrate Your Heritage, Embrace the Change".

In the past, 90 percent of the Bangalee participants of NABC were from India and 10 percent from Bangladesh, said Satyam Roy Chowdhury, vice-president of the Friends of Bangladesh, yesterday at a press conference at Jatiya Press Club, adding, "We want to increase it to 50 percent.”

The Tagore Society of Houston will organise the conference while Friends of Bangladesh will coordinate and facilitate interested participants from Bangladesh for taking part.

To promote Bangladeshis, a cultural programme will be held on December 30 at Bangla Academy where eminent artists from both India and Bangladesh are expected to take part, he added.

It is not possible to make NABC successful without an equal participation of Bangalees from the two countries, said ASM Shamsul Arefin, member secretary to the Friends of Bangladesh, a platform of the country's well-wishers working for upholding its image.

Businessmen from Bangladesh will be able to exhibit their products at the conference, he added.

Interested persons are requested to visit www.nabc2015.org for more information.