Kazi Zahidul Hasan :
British Foreign Minister Boris Johnson will arrive in Dhaka on February 9 for a two-day official tour amid concern over ban on direct air cargo from Bangladesh imposed by the UK authorities in 2016.
The cargo ban has already left huge negative impact on Bangladesh’s export trade to the 28 nations’ European Union that accounts for over 50 per cent of the country’s total export.
He is the first British Foreign Minister visiting Bangladesh in ten years. Earlier, David Miliband visited Dhaka in 2008.
Boris Johnson will hold talks on bilateral issues with Foreign Minister AH Mahmood Ali. He is also expected to hold bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, diplomatic sources said on Thursday.
“The two sides are likely to discuss strategic bilateral issues, post-Brexit trade relations, visa procedures and immigration, development assistance and other diplomatic, political and economic issues,” a Foreign Ministry official told The New Nation yesterday.
The official on condition of anonymity said the British Foreign Minister is also expected to discuss the Rohingya issue and visit Rohingya refugee camps in Cox’s Bazar. The British government has already played a key role in promoting the Rohingya issue on global forums, including the United Nations, strongly condemning persecution on Rohingya minority community by Myanmar’s state security forces in Rakhine state.
It also assured Bangladesh of full support to resolve the Rohingya crisis staying beside it.
“We are expecting an official announcement regarding the withdrawal of the cargo ban during his visit. The ban has already put an adverse impact on Bangladesh’s export,” said the Foreign Ministry official, adding, “We will also seek duty-free market access of local products to the British market after the country’s exit from the European Union”. He said a high-level delegation from Bangladesh visited the UK in December last year. At that time the two sides agreed that there has been significant improvement in the aviation security in Bangladesh. We are hopeful that an announcement may come from him lifting the ban.” The United Kingdom is the third largest export market for Bangladeshi products.
Trade between the two countries stood at US$ 4.0 billion last year.
“Visa and immigration issues are also crucial for Bangladesh. The British authorities have curbed visas for Bangladeshis and processing of visa is taking long-time, creating hindrances for Bangladeshi students who opted to go the country for studying. We will communicate the issue to the British Foreign Minister urging him to ease the visa procedures so that students and skilled workface required in British curry industry can go to the UK freely,” said the Foreign Ministry official. When asked, the official said, “Visit of a British Foreign Minister here always carries huge significance on political relations between the two countries. Its an important visit which will help promote strategic issues and deepen bilateral ties further.”
“We are facing huge difficulties in shipping goods to the EU countries due to the UK’s ban on direct cargo flights from Dhaka. It is severely hampering our export business,” Siddiqur Rahman, President of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association told The New Nation yesterday.
Bangladesh’s exports worth $18.68 billion goods to the EU in fiscal 2015-16 and of the amount, $17.15 billion came from apparel shipments. The EU currently accounts for over 60 per cent of Bangladesh’s garment export.
“We’re concern over the cargo ban as it is affecting our exports. We want the earliest solution. We expect a positive outcome in this regard during the visit of the British Foreign Minister.”
