EU to support Bangladesh for sustainable LDC graduation: EU envoy
The European Union (EU) will continue providing Bangladesh with its support and assistance to help the south Asian country achieve sustainable graduation from the least developed country (LDC) category.
EU Ambassador Charles Whiteley gave the assurance in a meeting with Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MCCI) President Md Saiful Islam at the latter's office in Dhaka's Gulshan area today.
Whiteley said there were untapped areas of cooperation where many of the member countries of the EU might be able to collaborate on rendering technical support like renewable energy, skills development, up-skilling, re-skilling and some special programmes for high tech jobs.
Addressing the meeting, MCCI President Md Saiful Islam highlighted the challenges of LDC graduation and Bangladesh's joining the club of Middle-Income Country (MIC) by 2026.
Islam also expressed his concerns about tariff escalation after the LDC graduation and urged the EU to extend transitional support and continuation of the EBA (Everything but Arms) programme for a reasonable period to attain sustainable graduation.
Responding to Islam's call, Whiteley assured that the EU would look into the concerns very pragmatically.
Praising Bangladesh's economic transformation and its high-quality exportable products, the ambassador expressed his willingness to promote EU investment in Bangladesh and said the EU was ready to provide feedback and assistance in improving Bangladesh's business climate.
In the meeting, the MCCI president categorically mentioned the benefits received by Bangladesh through the EU's EBA programme which has significantly helped the country to reduce poverty, strengthen women empowerment and make visible progress in social development.
Highlighting Bangladesh's commitment to the EU roadmap on labour standards and workers' rights, Islam assured that amendment of labour laws, rules, including addressing concerns of the EPZ law, have been a continuous process and Bangladesh is steadfast in taking correct steps on all relevant issues.
He also discussed the EU's possible engagement with the service sector in Bangladesh.
Bangladesh possesses a huge pool of IT professionals and many of the EU member countries could tap into this resource pool for mutual benefit especially for emerging technologies such as blockchain, artificial intelligence and the internet of things, he added.
Comments