Bangladesh and European Union Business Council Bangladesh will hold the first ever dialogue on business climate to discuss business obstacles and devise solutions to them.
Commerce Minister Tofail Ahmed came up with the announcement after a meeting with the European Union Ambassador to Bangladesh, Pierre Mayaudon, at the secretariat yesterday.
The dialogue will be held on May 12 in Dhaka.
“EU is the number one export destination for Bangladesh products, specially RMGs, and the dialogue will focus on enhancing trade between Bangladesh and EU members,” said Tofail.
According the latest data of Export Promotion Bureau (EPB), in the last fiscal year, Bangladesh earned $17.04 billion.
Eight EU ambassadors to Dhaka, three other EU member country representatives and five EU private sectors will take part in the dialogue, said the minister.
Business issues like VAT, tax, corporate tax, income tax and bilateral trade issues would be discussed at the dialogue, he said.
Talking on the export earnings from EU, Tofail said the earnings could be more if the currency did not devalue against dollar.
“We are thinking about providing incentives for those exporters, who export to EU countries.”
In his address, Pierre Mayaudon said: “The dialogue is aimed at identifying obstacles to trade and investment between EU and Bangladesh and to devise solution.”
He said the dialogue will encourage more EU investment and trade in Bangladesh.
EU is the number one trade partner of Bangaldesh, and 60% of total RMG exports goes to its member states, said Mayaudon.
The European Union wants more diversified economic relation and to reach it to a new height through dialogue, he added.
Senior Commerce Secretary Hedayetullah Al Mamoon and Nuria Lopez, president of Spain Bangladesh Chamber of Commerce and Industry, were present at the meeting.
