Thailand says Bangladesh’s economy will be more sustainable if it can diversify its sources of income without relying solely on the ready-made garments industry. Makawadee Sumitmor, the Thai Ambassador to Dhaka, said the Southeast Asian country was also interested in enhancing ties with Bangladesh and improving economic cooperation through bilateral trade.
In a recent interview with UNB, Ambassador Macawadee Sumitmor said, ‘Bangladesh should also consider increasing the price of RMG products through capacity building in readymade garments design and research and development to make local brands competitive in the global market.’
He said that the two countries have set a goal to increase bilateral trade to USD 2 billion.
The Ambassador said that in the last five decades, Bangladesh has gradually built up the country with its growing per capita income.
He further said that Bangladesh will be transformed from a Least Developed Country (LDC) to a developing country in a few years as a result of continued GDP growth despite the pandemic.
Makawadee said that Bangladesh’s success in the ready-made garments sector was impressive and Bangladesh could rightly be called the ‘Wardrobe of the World’. Bangladesh has given proof of this extraordinary work to the world.
In response to a question, Ambassador Sumitmor said that the concerned authorities of Bangladesh were conducting a study on the feasibility of a free trade agreement with Thailand. If the agreement is signed, tax barriers will be reduced and trade flows will increase.
He added that Thailand has approved the Duty-Free Quota-Free (DFQF) project for the Least Developed Countries (LDCs). This means that Bangladesh can export 7,187 agricultural and industrial products to Thailand free of duty.
The Thai Ambassador said that one of the ways to increase bilateral trade between Bangladesh and Thailand is to establish a direct sea transport route.
‘We signed a memorandum of understanding last December to launch direct coastal shipping services between Chittagong port and Port of Rayong,’ he said.
Before this, shipments had to transit through Singapore or Sri Lanka, which took 12-15 days. However, according to the MoU between the two ports, the two countries are trying to establish a direct coastal shipping route between the Port of Rayong and Chittagong port to reduce time and cost. If implemented, the transportation time of shipments will be reduced by at least three days.
