The government is going to open a mission in Ethiopia as part of its efforts to expand trade relations with the African emerging markets.
“We have received green signal from finance ministry about opening a mission in Ethiopia. Hope we see it very soon,” Shahriar Alam, state minister for foreign affairs, told Dhaka Tribune yesterday.
Earlier, Foreign Secretary Md Shahidul Haque sent a letter to Finance Secretary Mahbub Ahmed recommending creation of a senior diplomatic post for the proposed Bangladesh Embassy.
The envoy to be posted in Ethiopia would have the responsibility to strengthen trade and investment relations with 54 African nations, said the letter.
The headquarters of the African Union is located in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa.
“We expect to launch our mission in Addis Ababa very soon. Now we are working on setting up of an office there and appointing the top diplomat,” state minister said.
Bangladesh currently has two foreign missions in Africa - Kenya and South Africa, but officials say they are not enough to beef up engagement with the continent.
Shahriar said the proposed mission in Addis Ababa would be a lot helpful in building up warm relations with the countries.
“We expect our proposed mission will take the trade relations with this country - a resourceful and one of the fastest growing economies in Africa - to a level that we have now with China and India.”
As well as the Bangladesh embassy in Ethiopia can also be a place of coordination for the Bangladeshi peace keepers working in many countries in the region as Ethiopia is located in the central point of the continent.
In March this year, in the Women in Parliaments Global Forum Summit in Addis Ababa, Shahriar met his Ethiopian counterpart Berhane Gebre-Christos.
During the meeting Shahriar suggested signing of a bilateral trade and investment promotion and protection agreement.
Then Berhane Gebre-Christos showed interest to send a high-level trade delegation to Dhaka.
They said the two countries could work together in different sectors like hydropower, electricity, textiles, air connectivity, leather and meat processing.
Last year, a business delegation comprising EPB officials and private entrepreneurs visited some African countries including South Africa, Mozambique and Zambia to explore markets there.
As Bangladesh was largely dependent on the US and the European Union markets for its garment exports, it could now make attempts to explore the African markets, officials said.
In the last fiscal year, the country exported $290.42m to the African market compared to $202.55m in the previous year.