Business Desk :
Commerce Minister Tipu Munshi on Thursday said that Bangladesh was a major beneficiary of an open market economy and globalisation and that the government would continue the practice of an open economy to encourage and facilitate businesses.
“The Ministry of Commerce will strive to work hard to make Bangladesh the preferred investment destination and among the most globally competitive trading nations in the world,” said Tipu.
The minister made the comments while attending a virtual discussion on “Bangladesh-Malaysia FTA: Challenges & Opportunities for Business Community”, organised by the Bangladesh-Malaysia Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
“FTAs help to enhance competitive advantage, increase market access for goods and services, strengthen the investors’ confidence and to a large extent, build economic sustainability,” said the minister.
The minister noted that some progresses were made since agreeing to sign a bilateral Free Trade Agreement with Malaysia on January 13, 2015, but they still need to put a lot of efforts into concluding the negotiation and sign the proposed FTA.
Raquib Mohammad Fakhrul Rocky, president of BMCCI, said that Bangladesh’s future trade benefits would largely depend on bilateral Free Trade Agreements as the country would lose duty-free facilities and a host of trade preferences once graduating into middle-income nation from the league of least developed countries in 2024.
Dr Mostafa Abid Khan, member of Bangladesh Trade & Tariff Commission presented the keynote paper in the webinar while various members of media and business communities of both Bangladesh and Malaysia also attended the virtual discussion.
