Brexit won't harm UK-Bangla trade
03 July, 2018
United Kingdom's foreign direct investment to Bangladesh will continue rising even after Brexit thanks to the growing potential of the South Asian country, a British state minister said yesterday.
“We (UK) have the second largest development budget for Bangladesh,” said Mark Field, who is responsible for Asia and the Pacific.
“A part of that will also be used for ease of doing business in the commercial sphere between the UK and Bangladesh.”
Currently, 200 British companies have operations in Bangladesh.
The bilateral relationship between the two nations is tremendous and opportunities are there to improve it further, he said.
The UK is the third largest export destination for Bangladeshi apparels encompassing more than $4 billion worth of shipments a year.
The UK will try to assist Bangladesh and “try to bring in more investment here”, Field said at a press meet after a meeting with Commerce Minister Tofail Ahmed at the latter's secretariat office in Dhaka.
Field also said his government will cooperate with the Bangladeshi students who want to complete higher education in different universities and educational institutions in the UK.
He also expects Bangladeshi people living in the UK for years to cooperate in bringing in more investment here.
“Britain wants to develop the real relationship in commercial sense. The services sectors, education and financial services and insurance would be new areas of commercial relationship in near future between Bangladesh and the UK.”
“I am very much aware of the Rohingya issue. We need a long-term solution. The return of Rohingya [to Myanmar] people must be safe, secure and voluntary. We stood beside Rohingya people,” Field said after a visit to the Rohingya camps in Cox's Bazar on Saturday.
The UK is leading the way with £129 million of aid already given, he said. Over 706,364 people have fled from their homes in Myanmar's Rakhine State into Bangladesh since August 2017, joining around 340,000 Rohingyas who had previously fled.
Bangladesh has been enjoying zero-duty benefit on export to the UK since 1971, under the EU's Everything but Arms scheme. The commerce minister said the UK will continue providing the duty-free benefit to Bangladesh even after Brexit, a move which will separate the Theresa May-led country from the EU.
Bangladesh will also continue getting benefits of the GSP Plus status from the EU after the country's graduation from the league of least developing countries, he said.
At the end of the current fiscal year, Bangladesh will be able to achieve the overall export target of $37 billion, of which garment items will grab $30 billion.
The minister said the next national election scheduled to be held in December this year will be free and fair.
“We are expecting that the next election would be participatory and BNP must take part in it.”
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