Germany stresses fair election for more investment in Bangladesh

The visiting German parliamentary delegation has underscored the need for a fair election as well as a stable environment in Bangladesh to attract more investments from Germany in the coming days.

Renate Kunast, leader of the six-member visiting delegation, came up with the statement while talking to reporters at a hotel in Dhaka on Saturday evening. She is the president of the German parliamentary committee on South Asia and a former minister.

The German team wrapped up their four-day trip to Dhaka on Saturday. Disclosing the visit outcomes, Renate Kunast said Bangladesh is in a good position in terms of competition in the global market. It will improve further if human rights and the ILO declaration are implemented here.

Asked about more German investment, she said buyers or brands want a good environment, a good image to invest in. It is crucial to hold fair elections at all levels to ensure social stability.

Lauding the readymade garment (RMG) industry here, the German MP said there has been a considerable improvement in the work environment and it is imperative to ensure rights of workers to continue the improvement spree.

During the Dhaka trip, the German delegation paid courtesy calls on speaker Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury, state minister for foreign affairs Shariar Alam, and environment, forest and climate change minister Shahab Uddin.

The German parliamentary group laid emphasis on ensuring an environment for civil society to work actively and freely for the sake of democracy in Bangladesh.

They exchanged views with the civil society members in the residence of German ambassador in Dhaka, Achim Troster, on Friday evening. An extensive discussion took place there over the current situation in the country.

Ambassador Achim Troster took to twitter to disclose the meeting attended by Sushashoner Jonno Nagorik (Shujan) secretary Badiul Alam Majumdar, director (Bangladesh and South Asia) of Article-19 Faruk Faisal and some others. The civil society delegation said they held open discussions and heard each other.

According to diplomatic sources, freedom of expression and media, human rights, and labor rights ruled the agenda of the view exchange meeting. The German delegation expressed concern hearing the latest developments here from the civil society members.

They particularly marked the issues of human rights violation by law enforcers and shrinking space for civil society as well as freedom of press and expression as concerning.