World Trade Organisation Director General Roberto Azevedo will visit Dhaka next month to discuss implementation of the Bali Package with the government of Bangladesh.
He is scheduled to arrive in Dhaka on June 3, Commerce Secretary Mahbub Ahmed told the Dhaka Tribune over phone yesterday.
It will be the second visit by any WTO director general in two years as former DG Pascal Lamy visited Dhaka in 2012.
The visit is important as Bangladesh will raise the issues of implementation of the package adopted after hectic negotiation at the ninth ministerial conference of WTO in Bali, Indonesia in December last year, Ahmed said.
The agreement allows the least developed countries like Bangladesh to get duty-free quota-free market access in an expanded manner.
“There are some countries which have not yet provided duty-free market access completely to the LDCs and the Bali Package urged them to expand the coverage before the next WTO ministerial meeting,” said the commerce secretary, who led Bangladesh delegation to the last ministerial meeting.
“It is one of the main reasons to invite Azevêdo so the government can discuss the issues.”
Bangladesh enjoys duty-free market access to European Union, Canada, Australia, Japan and some other countries. The US being single biggest export destination provides the trade concession to 97% of the products from Bangladesh, but the country’s main export earner readymade garments is not entitled to enjoy the facility till now.
A roadmap has been declared to implement the expansion of the greater market access and the WTO is working on the issue, Ahmed said.
In accordance with the Bali Package, members of the developed and developing countries that do not yet provide full duty-free and quota-free market access for products originating in LDCs shall seek to improve their existing duty-free and quota-free coverage for such products, so as to provide increasingly greater market access to LDCs, prior to the next ministerial conference.
Azevêdo is the sixth Director-General of the WTO and his appointment took effect on September 1 last year for a four-year term.
