With Bangladesh's economy growing steadily over the last 10-15 years, Australia has now become an important trading partner, says Obaidur Rahman, president of the Australia-Bangladesh Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
In FY20, Australia’s two-way goods and services trade with Bangladesh grew to over $2.6 billion, he further said.
Two-way trade in goods alone is valued at $2 billion.
Agricultural products and cotton are among Australia’s key merchandise exports to Bangladesh, while clothing and textiles are key imports. As a Least Developed Country (LDC), products from Bangladesh enter Australia duty-free and quota-free.
“Bangladesh’s economy will cross the $500 billion mark in FY23 as the country continues on the path to becoming a happy and prosperous nation by 2041,” Rahman said, adding: “We are very optimistic that Australia will come forward to build up more bilateral economic ties.”
Rahman also said Bangladesh Investment Development Authority (BIDA) is very active to attract foreign investment by holding trade and investment seminars in the country and overseas as well.
“In many ways, the government is trying to create an enabling environment for trade and investment. In this regard, a Trade and Investment Framework Arrangement (TIFA) has already been signed between Australia and Bangladesh, under which a joint working group is expected to work to dig out a mechanism to find out the potentials relating to trade and investment between our two countries,” the chamber president said.
At present textile, apparel, leather and leather goods, jute and Jute goods, plastic products, synthetic fibre, pharmaceuticals, infrastructure development, agribusiness, fisheries and allied, food and beverages, skill development, education, power, energy and minerals, light engineering, information and communication technology services, and tourism have been identified as sectors of cooperation for both nations.
“As we have enough opportunities in the field of blue economy, Australia could also be our partners as the country has adequate experience,” Rahman said.
Asked about the Omicron variant’s effect on bilateral trade in the coming months, he said: “Omicron is already spreading all over the world. Australia is also suffering from this virus. But in Australia, the vaccination rate is very significant with developed systems and services.
“We also expect that more initiatives will be carried out to protect our people by our government; we hope our economy will not be affected much if the government takes appropriate health measures,” he said.
The Australian government provided an estimated $60 million in total official development assistance (ODA) to Bangladesh in FY19, Rahman also said.
This includes an estimated $42 million in bilateral funding managed by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT).
Bangladesh and Australia will celebrate 50 years of diplomatic relations this year.