Among the most important steps Bangladesh has taken in its march towards becoming a devel-oped economy has been its renewed focus on strengthening diplomatic relationships with all na-tions of the world.
To that end, it is encouraging to see outgoing Danish Ambassador to Bangladesh Winnie Estrup Petersen saying that Denmark is keen to invest in various sectors of Bangladesh.
There remain several avenues where Bangladesh continues to lag behind, and while we are often successful in beginning negotiations and dialog with other nations, too often, we have failed to fol-low through with timely and concrete actions.
This has resulted in failed opportunities to attract the necessary foreign investment, with our busi-ness culture rife with hurdles and bottlenecks being a primary culprit.
Moving forward, while we must encourage more and more nations, especially those with the pro-file of Denmark, to invest in Bangladesh, we must prioritize making the lives of potential investors in Bangladesh easier but eliminating the various bottlenecks that continue to exist.
However, Bangladesh too must hold other nations accountable for their promises. If we are being told that we will receive assistance with regard to repatriating the Rohingya, we must hold those nations accountable for failing to take action as well.
Ultimately, with Bangladesh soon set to complete its graduation to a middle income country and losing many privileges afforded to a least developed country (LDC) it is imperative that we contin-ue to build stronger relationships with countries, while simultaneously working on our business culture so as to not detract them from future potential investment. This is what will continue to help us progress.