DHAKA, May 17, 2021 (BSS) – Experts at a webinar today called for
increasing trade facilitation and reduction of customs tariffs and
supplementary duties to become regional transit and investment hub.
They mentioned that Bangladesh should focus the Chinese, Indian and
Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) market in order to gain
from fortune of neighbor of such big markets.
The country should also promote Bangladesh, Bhutan, India and Nepal
(BBIN) initiative to promote connectivity and immediately ratify the
Transports Internationaux Routiers (TIR) convention, they observed.
They made the observation at the webinar on “Ease of doing business:
status of 2021”, organised by International Business Forum of
Bangladesh (IBFB) and Bangladesh Enterprise Institute (BEI), said a
press release.
Md Sirazul Islam, Executive Chairman, Bangladesh Investment
Development Authority (BIDA) was present at the webinar as guest of
honor while Jibon Krishna Saha Roy, Director (One Stop Service and
Regulatory Reform), BIDA presented the key note paper at the webinar.
Ambassador M Humayun Kabir, President of the Bangladesh Enterprise
Institute (BEI) gave the welcome speech in the webinar.
MS Siddiqui, Legal Economist and Vice President of IBFB, Dr Muhammad
Abdul Mazid, Former Secretary and Ex-Chairman of NBR and Chairman of
the Finance Committee of IBFB, and Dr AFM Matiur Rahman, Former
Secretary and Vice-Chairman of the Industry Leadership Committee of
IBFB spoke as Designated Discussants.
Humayun Rashid, President, IBFB and Managing Director and CEO of the
Energypac Power Generation Limited, was the chairperson of the
webinar.
At the webinar, speakers also mentioned that Bangladesh can take the
benefits of TIR convention only with internal reforms and readiness to
serve the region as trading hub such as the Netherlands, Singapore or
Dubai.
They opined that the ‘Doing Business’ report is not intended as a
complete assessment of competitiveness or of the business environment
of a country and should rather be considered as a proxy of the
regulatory framework faced by the private sector in a country.