Although Bangladesh officially turned 51 this year, and it’s achieved many milestones, ours is still a country that thrives off its bilateral relations -- the UAE has long been an important strategic partner for Bangladesh in that regard.
Whether through providing the UAE with the necessary labour they require for their development, or through the bilateral commerce and trade; this is indeed a relationship that our nation will need to nurture as we propel into the status of a developing country.
To that end, it is heartening to know that, in a recent sit-down between delegations of both Bangladesh and the UAE, an overall roadmap of what bilateral ties between the two nations would look like in the near future was discussed at length.
Increased investment from the side of the UAE is one such issue that stands to directly impact our country in the here and now. For a country such as Bangladesh, which has extremely lofty economic ambitions -- among which is achieving a GDP growth rate of over 8% over the next few years -- it is imperative that both domestic and foreign investment continue to increase.
Elevating this long-standing relationship would not only be lucrative, as it also stands to greatly impact diplomatic ties between our nations as well, which can only result in further opportunities of investment in Bangladesh. Which is why a roadmap to such a future is all but essential in terms of both maintaining and enhancing bilateral ties between our nation and others.
However, there is much work to be done on our end as well.
Bangladesh has historically fared poorly when it comes to ease of doing business, and the onus to improve the status quo lies solely on the administration. Proposing incentives to businesses and investors is an appreciable move, but the real work would be to remove all the needless bureaucracy, red-tape, and corruption that lies within this system.
Nurturing investment ties with the UAE paves the way for a bright future for both our nations. We just need to follow the roadmap closely.