Bangladesh needs more skills, jobs, investment to maintain growth: UK

British high commissioner to Bangladesh Robert Chatterton Dickson on Monday said Bangladesh needs more know-how, more jobs and more capital to maintain the remarkable growth noting that FDI can provide that, reports UNB.

“Foreign investments can help upskill a workforce," he said mentioning that Bangladesh has done remarkably well in the 50 years since independence - something the country can be genuinely proud of.

The British high commissioner made the remarks while delivering a lecture on ‘The Importance of International Trade’ at the international business department, University of Dhaka.

Over 200 students from international business department, Shobod Deba Nath, associate professor and chairman, international business department, University of Dhaka, Derek Griffiths, head of Trade & Investment Bangladesh, international trade department, British High Commission Dhaka, and other faculty members of Dhaka University and staff of the British High Commission Dhaka attended the lecture.

After the lecture, students had the opportunity to ask questions to the British high commissioner on UK-Bangladesh diplomatic and trade relationship, ease of doing business, and impact of Brexit on Bangladesh trade.
Prior to his lecture, the British high commissioner met Md. Akhtaruzzaman, vice-chancellor of the University of Dhaka.

The British envoy said many of the managers in Bangladesh’s private banks have developed their careers in HSBC or Standard Chartered - two British banks.

He said the City of London, home to some of the World’s best known financial institutions, can help access capital.

On the UK’s withdrawal from the EU, the high commissioner said on 31 January they left the European Union after 47 years of membership.

"For the first time since 1973 we are a fully sovereign nation able to control our own destiny. That includes trade," he said.

High commissioner Dickson said between now and the end of the year they will work with the EU to negotiate a free trade agreement, drawing on other recent agreements, such as the one between the EU and Canada. “That should be the core of our future relationship."

The High Commissioner talked about the phenomenal rise of Bangladesh’s RMG industry saying overtime the comparative advantage can be eroded by competitors.

"That’s why, to maintain growth, Bangladesh needs to move up the value chain and diversify its exports. And what’s good for Bangladesh is also good for the UK - that’s the basis of Free Trade - if our companies can supply or partner yours to help them become more competitive.”

On UK-Bangladesh trade relationship, the high commissioner emphasised that as they become Global Britain, they will be developing new partnerships and building on historic friendships.

"There are few places in the world where these opportunities are greater than here in Bangladesh thanks to the thousands of personal connections between us," he said.

The high commissioner said, “As Britain we were there at the start. Recently I was reading some of the British media commentary from 1971. It is clear that UK opinion during the liberation struggle was overwhelmingly on the side of Bangladesh."

He said January 1972 saw Bangabandhu greeted in Downing Street by the then British prime minister, Edward Heath.

He then returned to a newly independent Bangladesh in an aircraft of the British Royal Air Force.

The high commissioner said fifty years on, Bangladesh has the fastest growing large economy in the world.

He said the UK is Bangladesh’s second largest single market and second largest source of international investment.

Marks and Spencer, Unilever, HSBC and Standard Chartered are some of the British companies doing well here.

"I would love more to join them. Our people to people inks are close. There are now some 600,000 British citizens of Bangladeshi heritage," said the high commissioner.

This includes four members of the parliament elected in December as well as doctors, lawyers, entertainers, engineers and, of course, the owners of most of Britain’s Indian restaurants.

"We are seeing evidence of the Bangladeshi diaspora looking for investment opportunities ‘back home’, spurred on by the country’s growth. A nice example of the benefits of bilateral trade," said the British envoy.

The high commissioner concluded his speech by saying, “I hope I’ve set out clearly why the British Government believes wholeheartedly in Free Trade as the cement that binds countries together and helps everyone prosper."

He said they in Britain are embarking on an exciting new chapter of their long history.

"We do so as a confident, independent nation standing up for our values of democracy and free trade. We do so alongside our friends in Bangladesh, a partnership which is evolving as Bangladesh moves towards middle income status.”