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Lutfey Siddiqi, Special Envoy on International Affairs to the Chief Adviser, on Saturday urged business leaders to raise their voice against road blockades that cause huge economic losses and disrupt essential government activities.
When roads in Dhaka are blocked for two to three hours to press demands, it costs single-day income of around 5 million people, he said.
Some issues may justify such actions, but many demands are trivial, he pointed out.
"No matter how justified your demand is, you are harming the public," he added, recalling that he himself could not attend a recent important meeting due to such a blockade.
Calling the blockades an 'economic crime', Lutfey Siddiqi urged businesses to raise their voice to thwart such crimes.
"You are a powerful body. You need to highlight the economic cost and ensure that the economy is not sacrificed," he said, addressing business leaders, investors, and all contributors to the economy.
The Special Envoy spoke as the chief guest at a seminar titled 'Export-import policies in Bangladesh: Requirements and Challenges upon LDC Graduation' organised by the Dhaka Chamber of Commerce & Industry (DCCI) at its office.
DCCI President Taskeen Ahmed chaired the seminar while Special Assistant to Economic Relations Division Dr. Anisuzzaman Chowdhury, Member of National Board of Revenue (NBR) Kazi Mostafizur Rahman, and Vice-Chairman of Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) Anwar Hossain were present as special guests.
Dr. Selim Raihan, Executive Director of SANEM, presented the keynote paper.
In his speech, the Special Envoy also urged businesses and investors to engage with the government as true representatives of the business community, rather than seeking individual favours.
Any sector in Bangladesh hardly has a roadmap for development, he said, adding: "Only one roadmap we have now that is to hold the national election between December and June. That is the most specific roadmap than anything we have in the country."
Siddiqi noted that Bangladesh has a roadmap with the International Labour Organisation (ILO) for labour reforms, implementation of which is crucial for retaining GSP facility.
He also said LDC graduation could either be a huge opportunity or a disaster.
Dr Anisuzzaman Chowdhury said that Bangladesh must go ahead with its planned graduation from LDC status, as there is no option to retreat.
He emphasised the need to focus on producing high-value ready-made garments, medicines, and light engineering products to face the challenges of the post-LDC era.
"A national dialogue will be held soon with the participation of all stakeholders to outline the next course of action for the post-LDC era," he said, adding that the country has got human capital, financial capital and physical capital and what is now needed is to build trust.
In the keynote presentation, Dr. Selim Raihan emphasised the need to improve policy coherence across trade, industrial and fiscal domains.
"Export-import policy reform is the central to build resilience and long-term competitiveness," he said.
DCCI President Taskeen Ahmed said Bangladesh's export sector is heavily concentrated on ready-made garment industry, which serves as a major engine of economic growth and is contributing over 84 per cent of total export earnings.
Other sectors like pharmaceuticals, leather, jute, agro-processed goods, automobile industry and ICT are not gaining momentum as the RMG sector, he added.
Mr. Anwar Hossain said effective policy support, rather than cash incentives, will be crucial to addressing the challenges of the post-LDC era.
"There are many non-traditional items we can explore for product diversification by leveraging duty benefits," he said.
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