Access to finance for the country's businesses was still remaining a "big issue", said Principal Secretary to Prime Minister M. Tofazzel Hossain Miah on Saturday.
"We have achieved milestones in access to infrastructure, but access to finance is a big issue, we should work on this area," he said while talking at a meeting.
Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Dhaka (MCCI) organised the quarterly luncheon meeting at the M. Anis Ud Dowla Conference Hall at its Gulshan office in the city.
Speaking as the chief guest, the Principal Secretary said cross-border trade facilitation also remained an area where the country needed to work.
He said the country was working on free trade agreement (FTA), preferential trade agreement (PTA) and Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) with different countries to increase cross-border trade.
He said Bangladesh should accept the fact following that the situation would change graduation from the least developed country (LDC) club. There should be serious policy interventions, he added.
Mr Tofazzel said export market diversification would be needed most beside export basket diversification.
"Middle Eastern market remains untapped for our exports, but our businesses are not that much interested to enter into this market," he said.
He also said the government was working on a national logistics policy and expressed hope that the policy would help ease the business climate.
It might take one or two years, but it would gear up businesses, he said.
The principal secretary said attention must be given to the area of intellectual property after the LDC graduation.
"If we do not work on this area like pharmaceuticals that enjoys TRIPS waiver, we would be adversely affected," he said.
He agreed that the country was blessed with robust demographic dividend. "But we have to utilise it".
He said new job creation was very much important for development of Bangladesh.
He urged the private sector to come up with employment generation.
The principal secretary said businesses and the government were partners, not opponents.
"We have a very stalemate perception about each other," he said.
The government provided at least 30 big types of support to the readymade garment sector but not other sectors, he observed.
"Our growth may have slowed but we have done a lot of reforms," he said.
He expressed hope that the tax administration would bring reforms through automation in next 1-2 years.
In his welcome speech, MCCI President Saiful Islam emphasized easing the business licence process.
"Licences should be at least five to ten years rather one year," he said.
He said MCCI was continuously working on creating responsible business.
Former MCCI President Nihad Kabir said the government was taking decisions easily but the implementation process was taking a lot of time.
She urged the secretary to work in this area.
