Business Desk :
Australia has officially assured Bangladesh of continuing duty and quota free treatment for Bangladeshi exports even after graduation from LDC in 2026.
The commitment came at a meeting of the first Joint Working Group on trade and investment held recently in Canberra, according to the Bangladesh High Commission in Canberra.
Formed under the Trade and Investment Framework Arrangement (TIFA) between Australia and Bangladesh, the JWG meeting had productive discussions on general trade issues, trade in goods and services, trade facilitation, promotion of investment, energy and defence collaboration, among others. Australia agreed to initiate a study on prospects of greater trade and investment flow for adding dynamism in economic ties.
The JWG agreed to involve relevant private sectors and encouraged institutional linkages between apex trade bodies of the two countries to further strengthen bilateral trade.
The two countries agreed to enhance industry connections between Australian exporters of raw materials like cotton, wool, hides and importers, manufacturers in Bangladesh.
They decided to explore options to engage with global value chains as well as third country markets and “buy back” finished goods made from Australian inputs. Australia expressed keenness to explore investment opportunities in infrastructure, energy, mining and ICT sectors in Bangladesh.
Australia also agreed to support Bangladesh in capacity-building and human resource development through cooperation on technical and vocation education and in updating the Country Education Profile for enabling greater number of Bangladeshi students to pursue higher studies in Australia. Australia expressed willingness to provide training on the Australian Fumigation Accreditation Scheme to help Bangladeshi producers and exporters meet regulatory standards of the Australian market.The Australian Trade Minister Dan Tehan, in a video message for the JWG meeting, said that Australia and Bangladesh are moving to a new level of partnership — based on shared interests, values, people-to-people links and increasingly marked by the dynamism of the commercial ties.
The next JWG meeting would take place in Bangladesh early next year.
