Staff Reporter :
Commerce Minister Tofail Ahmed said on Tuesday that Bangladesh would get quota free and duty-free access of its products to Chile under preferential trade agreement (PTA).
“We are preparing a draft agreement to sign the PTA with Chile,” he said at a seminar on the ‘Role of Honorary Consuls in Promoting Bilateral Trade and Investment’, jointly organized by the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI) and Friedrich Naumann Foundation (FNF) at a city hotel.
FBCCI president Kazi Akram Uddin Ahmed presided over the function while Prime Minister’s Foreign Affairs Advisor Dr Gowher Rizvi, former ambassador Mohammad Zamir, FNF regional director of South Asia Seigfried Herzog, its Country Representative Dr Najmul Hossain, President of Bangladesh Consular Corps Asif A Chowdhury and New Zealand’s consul in Bangladesh Niaz Ahmed spoke at the function.
Former Ambassador Humayun Kabir presented the keynote paper at the seminar.
Chile has decided to provide quota-free, duty-free market access for Bangladesh from 1st January 2015, Herzog said.
Urging entrepreneurs and diplomats to go for diversification of market and
products of Bangladesh, Tofail Ahmed said the government has taken a move under its five-year plan to diversify its products and explore markets for its products. “We’ll visit some parts of Africa to expand the market for Bangladesh as the continent is a potential destination for our products,” he said adding the North American market also could be a potential destination for Bangladesh products.
He said that as per the World Trade Organisation’s ministerial meeting decision, many countries offered duty-free, quota-free market access for Bangladesh products. “But, unfortunately Bangladesh is yet to get the duty- and quota-free market access from America.”
He said Bangladesh is hopeful of retaining the generalized system of preference (GSP) of the USA as many of the conditions have been fulfilled. The two countries have signed TICFA agreement, which would help expand Bangladeshi products’ market in the USA, he said.
Tofail said Bangladesh is now ahead of Pakistan in many considerations as Bangladesh’s export is $35 billion as against Pakistan’s $ 20 billion. Bangladesh’s foreign exchange reserve is also bigger than that of Pakistan, he added. Dr Gowher Rizvi urged the consuls and diplomats serving in Bangladesh and abroad to present the country with its real achievements in different sectors. Bangladesh has been making fast progress with its Muslim majority population and secular culture.
Humayun Kabir said Bangladesh has 52 diplomatic missions in different countries.
Beside, another 81 honorary consuls are representing Bangladesh in different countries while 52 consuls of different countries are working in Bangladesh, of whom most are based in Chittagong.
Kabir said that by appointing the honorary consuls abroad, Bangladesh can expand its diplomatic relations with different countries in a cost effective manner with efficiency. Honorary consuls can play a supplementary role in expanding trade, he said adding, “They could be the spearhead of our economic diplomacy and bridge builder and also can build up the country’s image.” Bangladesh lacks coordinated effort in using its honorary consuls and their services, he observed. New Zealand’s consul Niaz Ahmed urged the government to review some of the policies, which discourage consuls to play their desired goal.
