Seventh plenary meeting between EU and BCD held in Dhaka
The European Union (EU) and Bangladesh Business Climate Dialogue held its 7th plenary meeting on Thursday at Intercontinental Hotel in Dhaka, said a press release.
The BCD aims to jointly facilitate trade and investment from the EU, Bangladesh’s number one trading partner and the second largest source of FDI to Bangladesh.
Bangladesh’s exports to the EU amounted to around €16 billion in 2021 calendar year, while the EU exports to Bangladesh were to the tune of €3 billion.
Commerce ministry senior secretary Tapan Kanti Ghosh and EU ambassador Charles Whiteley co-chaired the event with the presence of EU heads of diplomatic missions in Dhaka—Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Spain, and Sweden.
Numerous government authorities, including Bangladesh Investment Development Authority (BIDA), the shipping ministry, the National Board of Revenue (NBR), Bangladesh Bank and some representatives from the EU private sector participated to the dialogue.
Both sides took stock of discussions in three priority fields: tax and customs, shipping and logistics, and green business practices. They agreed on some steps, including simplifying the customs clearance process, accelerating the removal of idle containers from the Chittagong Port premises and interchanging of empty containers between Dhaka railway and river terminals.
Apart from this, the EU side informed the meeting about two upcoming initiatives.
First, the “EU-Bangladesh Meaning Business”, which is conceived in the context of the 50th anniversary of the European Union (EU’s) diplomatic relations with Bangladesh established in 1973.
Second, the establishment of a Eurocham in Bangladesh, a European Union (EU) Chamber of Commerce, which aims to build bridges between the Bangladeshi and EU private sectors and serve as a centre of excellence connecting Bangladeshi public and private sectors with investors from Europe.