DHAKA, Oct 7, 2021 (BSS) - Commerce Minister Tipu Munshi today said that comprehensive knowledge on trade documentation and custom procedures is crucial for building the competiveness of the country.

  "There is no alternative to trade and commerce for attaining the status of a developed country. Our competing countries are now highly concentrating on easing the trade documentation process," he said.

  The commerce minister said this while awarding certificates to the participants of the Bangladesh Foreign Trade Institute (BFTI) at the closing ceremony of a training program on "Rules and Procedures for Import and Export" held today at the BFTI conference room.

  Tapan Kanti Ghosh, secretary, Ministry of Commerce, was present as the special guest. 

  The five-day-long comprehensive training commenced on October 3, 2021 and some 33 local and foreign participants attended the program. 

  The government of Bangladesh has already taken multiple initiatives to simplify the trade procedures in order to be competitive in global market. 

  The commerce minister thanked BFTI for taking such a timely initiative by organizing this training program. 

  The commerce secretary hoped that the BFTI would be able to assist the government as well as the private sectors to combat upcoming trade-related challenges through quality research, training and policy advocacies. 

  Dr. Md. Jafar Uddin, chief executive officer of the BFTI and former senior secretary of the Ministry of Commerce, chaired the closing ceremony of the training program while Md. Hafizur Rahman, additional secretary, Ministry of Commerce, and Md. Obaidul Azam, director, BFTI also spoke on the occasion. 

  The CEO of BFTI said, "BFTI has a strategic plan to organize sector-specific capacity building training program for both public and private sectors round the year in the field of international trade".