Head of missions of European Union (EU) countries here today suggested the government taking some necessary steps, including improvement of customs tariffs and procedures, to facilitate more EU import from Bangladesh.
Improvement in customs tariffs and customs procedures will help Bangladesh create a positive investment climate which in turn would contribute to ensuring sustainable economic growth, they said.
Currently, the envoys observed that various tariffs and para-tariff barriers hinder quality European products from entering into Bangladesh.
They made the observations at the 6th plenary of EU-Bangladesh Business Climate Dialogue at the Commerce Ministry.
Commerce Minister Tipu Munshi chaired the dialogue while it was co-chaired by Commerce Secretary Dr Md Jafar Uddin and EU Ambassador to Bangladesh Rensje Teerink.
All eight EU Heads of Diplomatic Missions in Dhaka – Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom attended the dialogue while high level representatives from Bangladesh Investment Development Authority (BIDA), National Board of Revenue (NBR) and Bangladesh Bank were present.
The Heads of Missions expressed their desire to continue working constructively with the government in creating an environment conducive to do business in Bangladesh.
The EU-Bangladesh Business Climate Dialogue was initiated in May 2016 with the aim of jointly removing impediments that obstruct EU trade and investment in Bangladesh.
The EU is Bangladesh’s number one trading partner and the second largest source of FDI to Bangladesh. The next plenary is scheduled for July 2020.
(BSS)
