With the aim of closer cooperation between Bangladesh and the European Union, ‘EU-Bangladesh; Meaning Business’ will be held. The purpose of this event is to highlight the potential trade sectors that can be mutually beneficial to the close cooperation between Bangladesh and Europe on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of Bangladesh’s diplomatic relations with the EU.
The information was given in a joint statement after the 7th EU-Bangladesh Business Climate Dialogue at a hotel in Dhaka on Thursday (23 June).
The statement said that a European Union (EU) Chamber of Commerce-EuroCham will be established in Bangladesh. Its aim is to connect the Bangladeshi and EU private sectors and to act as a centre of excellence in connecting Bangladeshi public and private sectors with European investors for the sake of smooth and sustainable business relations between Bangladesh and the European Union.
In the dialogue, both sides took part in discussions on the three priorities of taxes, shipping and logistics, and green business and agreed to take some steps.
The seventh plenary meeting of the EU-Bangladesh Business Climate Dialogue has been held since its inception in May 2016. The goal of the Business Climate Dialogue is to jointly facilitate trade from the EU, Bangladesh’s number one trading partner and the second-largest source of FDI in Bangladesh.
In 2021, Bangladesh’s exports to the EU amounted to about 16 billion Euros. On the other hand, the export of the European Union to Bangladesh was 3 billion Euros.
Senior Secretary of the Ministry of Commerce Tapan Kanti Ghosh and EU Ambassador Charles Whiteley jointly presided over the plenary. It was attended by the heads of EU diplomatic missions in Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, and Sweden.
Representatives from various government agencies, including the Bangladesh Investment Development Authority (BIDA), the Ministry of Shipping, the National Board of Revenue (NBR), and Bangladesh Bank, as well as a number of EU private sector representatives took part in the dialogue.
Both sides agreed to set up a joint committee under tax and customs to examine the challenges and opportunities of simplifying the customs clearance process for both express and non-express air cargo.
In order to increase shipping and logistics cargo handling capacity and improve the health and safety situation at the port, the EU has agreed to expedite the removal of unusable containers from Chittagong port, the main gateway to Bangladesh’s trade. In addition, the exchange of empty containers between the railway and river terminals has been discussed.
