Appreciating Bangladesh’s economic progress, British High Commissioner to Bangladesh Robert Chatterton Dickson has emphasised attaining more competitive and strengthening business-friendly environment for attracting more foreign investment.
He has also underlined the need for quality education and skill development for the Bangladesh youths, to meet the needs of the industries.
The high commissioner highlighted the issues when he paid a courtesy visit to Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DCCI) and met its President Rizwan Rahman on Monday.
They discussed various bilateral issues relating to trade and commerce.
The DCCI leader urged the United Kingdom authorities to consider establishing a country-specific economic zone in Bangladesh.
The high commissioner mentioned that a good number of British companies are in operation in Bangladesh and they are doing well.
Health, financial sector, higher education and FINTECH are some of the potential sectors in Bangladesh to attract investments, he acknowledged.
High commissioner Dickson said the UK universities are willing to invest in Bangladesh’s higher education sector in a format of cross border higher education.“But to expedite it, policy guidelines/regulations need to be effective,” he suggested.
A trade-talk between Bangladesh and UK is scheduled to be held the next week to discuss bilateral trade and investment issues, the high commissioner told the meeting.
The DCCI president pointed out that the UK is the third-largest investor in Bangladesh and also the third largest export destination of Bangladesh.
In 2019-20, Bangladesh exported goods worth US$ 3.45 billion against the import of US$411 million.
Rizwan Rahman also said that UK is the second largest export destination for locally developed software.
He also appreciated the UK government for allowing Bangladesh to continue duty free access to the UK market even after the Brexit.
Team Leader of Economic Growth and Private Sector Development and Senior PSD Adviser of British High Commission Mahesh Mishra, DCCI Senior Vice President NKA Mobin, and Vice President MonowarHossain were present during the meeting.