UK businesses finding more prospects for trade, investment in Bangladesh: envoy

UK businesses are finding more prospects for trade and investment in Bangladesh that's progressing on its way to becoming a middle-income country in the next couple of years, UK High Commissioner to Bangladesh, Robert Chatterton Dickson, has said.

"We are seeing a lot of interest of British businesses and government in building trade and development relationship as Bangladesh continues to reach the middle-income country status. I think it is a very exciting time in our relationship," he said at a webinar organised by the Diplomatic Correspondents Association of Bangladesh (DCAB) today.

Presently, the bilateral trade between Bangladesh and UK is four billion pounds, which he said is very encouraging.

Recently, Chatterton said, UK's export credit agency -- UK Export Finance (UKEF) -- has tripled its capacity for Bangladesh to £2.5 billion ($3.2 billion).

"I think this will make it easier for UK companies to sell high quality goods and services into Bangladesh. We are making it easier for Bangladeshi companies to use British expertise in projects," he said.

UK will continue its concessionary measures for Bangladesh in terms of trade, he added.

At the same time, UK has also invested more than 250 million pounds in Bangladesh over the last ten years. Apart from trade, UK will also remain a major development partner in the coming years, he said.

Some 600,000 Bangladeshi diaspora in the UK is an important link to Bangladesh, he said. Apart from trade, UK and Bangladesh are working together on global issues having implications on Bangladesh. Those include Covid-19 vaccines, Rohingya refugees and climate change.

UK will help ensure that Bangladesh has access to the vaccine candidate of the Oxford University.

Asked if Oxford will conduct stage III trial of the vaccine candidate in Bangladesh, he said it does not matter if it is conducted in Bangladesh or not, but it will be made available here.

UK is also working with Bangladesh to develop a cold chain framework that is going to be vital for distribution of the vaccine in every corner of the country.

The UK diplomat said it is strongly supporting the accountability mechanism of the Rohingyas against Myanmar that is accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice. Also, the International Criminal Court is also investigating crimes against the Rohingyas.

It's clear that the Rohingya population will be in Bangladesh for some time but the members of international community are putting pressure on Myanmar government and individuals. Myanmar government will continue to face sanctions applied to it by other governments, he said.

"We, as pen-holder at the UN Security Council, will continue to ensure that Myanmar and Rohingya are on the agenda of the Security Council."

Chatterton also said UK is playing a leading role on climate change, a long-term global challenge. As a chair of the Conference of the Parties (COP) in 2021, UK is working very closely with Bangladesh, the chair of Climate Vulnerable Forum.

Bangladesh has already set example by taking adaptation measures and these examples need to be showcased globally, he said.

DCAB President Angur Nahar Monty and UK High Commission Senior Press Officer Meher Jerin moderated the webinar.