EU urges BD to make doing business easier, fair for all

European Union (EU) Ambassador to Bangladesh Rensje Teerink has urged the government of Bangladesh to take steps in making doing business easier and fair for all.

"We hope that necessary measures will be carried out in timely manner," she told the 5th EU-Bangladesh Business Climate Dialogue at the ministry of commerce in Dhaka on Sunday.

She termed complex the policy reform process in Bangladesh, and said unpredictable and uncertain regulatory policy implementation are the barriers towards doing business in Bangladesh.

Commerce Minister Tipu Munshi led the Bangladesh side at the dialogue, attended by ambassadors of different EU countries. Rensje Teerink led the EU side.

Commerce secretary Md. Mofizul Islam, representatives from different private sectors, Bangladesh Investment Development Authority (BIDA) and senior officials of the commerce ministry were present in the dialogue.

Pointing out that Bangladesh, among the least developed countries, is the highest beneficiary of the "Everything But Arms" initiative of the EU, Ms. Teerink requested the minister to facilitate the EU businesses by removing the barriers in customs and taxes.

"We will solve different problems before the next dialogue to be held in next six months," the minister told a joint press conference after the dialogue.

Since the first dialogue in May 2016, five joint working groups related to customs, pharmaceuticals, taxes, financial flows and investment issues were formed to boost the trade and investment between Bangladesh and the EU. Both sides have resolved different problems through discussions in the last four dialogues.

Ms. Teerink mentioned that the business dialogue has not been able to make sufficient headway as many obstacles to trade and investment were still persisted.

She pointed out that Bangladesh needed quality reforms and investment to achieve its socio-economic objectives, including becoming a middle income country by 2024.

The EU envoy recommended the government to improve the services at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport and Chittagong seaport - two major gateways for investment.

She praised the government for its efforts in introducing the one-stop service for promoting foreign direct investment (FDI).

Mr. Tipu Munshi urged the EU to invest in the Special Economic Zones (SEZs) in Bangladesh, and said the EU-Bangladesh Business Climate Dialogue would be held every six months to resolve problems through dialogue.

He said there are complexities in five trading sectors - import and customs duty, trade facilitation, pharmaceuticals, license and investment in services sector. The joint working groups are working on removing the problems.

"The EU-Bangladesh trade relation is growing day by day," said the minister.

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