DHAKA, June 9, 2022 (BSS) - Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen today said

Dhaka has already conducted feasibility studies on 23 countries for inking
different kinds of economic deals while the country is opening up new markets
to realize the current government's economic diplomacy.
 
"We've already conducted feasibility studies on 23 countries for bilateral
and regional trade agreement, free trade agreement and comprehensive economic
agreement," he said.
 
The foreign minister said this while inaugurating the First Economic
Diplomacy Week at Foreign Service Academy in the capital.

He said the foreign ministry along with all Bangladesh missions abroad timing
up with the commerce ministry have been engaged in the process of finalizing
preferential and free trade deals with a number of countries.
 
"All of my colleagues and Mission heads have been advised to put additional
efforts in achieving our goals of Economic Diplomacy," said the minister.

He said Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has outlined few roadmaps for achieving
Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman's dream of Sonar
Bangla by 2041.

"And to help achieving those roadmaps, we have introduced two packages ...
One is Economic Diplomacy and the other is Public Diplomacy and they
reinforce each other," he said.

For Bangladesh, Dr Momen said, Economic Diplomacy is more important as the
country prepares for its transition from the Least Developed Countries (LDCs)
group in 2026.

"This is also an important tool in our national efforts to achieve the 2030
Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and 2041 goals," he added.
 
The foreign minister said Bangladesh Missions abroad are working relentlessly
to ensure post-graduation preferential access of Bangladeshi products to the
large markets such as GSP+ facilities in the European Union.

He said Bangladesh's apparel sector is already on the move to gradually
strengthen its backward linkage industries to achieve "double transformation"
to meet the RoO (Rules of Origin) criteria of the GSP+ scheme.

As of now, he said, as much as 80 percent of the country's exportable
knitwear is already for undergoing double transformation, while it is around
50 percent for woven garments.

"Steps are afoot to diversify our export basket by prioritizing sectors such
as ceramic industry, ship-wrecking industry, cement industry, pharmaceutical
industry and knowledge-driven industries such as Information technology
(IT)," he said, adding that Bangladesh is now exporting robots to South
Korea, ships to India and pharmaceuticals to Europe.
 
Apart from being a booming domestic market, Dr Momen said, Bangladesh is also
a strategic hub linking India, China and the ASEAN countries.

"Today, Bangladesh has the most liberal investment regime in the region,
characterized by a wide array of facilities, attractive incentive policies
and consistent reforms," he said.

The foreign minister said 100 Special Economic Zones and 28 High-Tech Parks
are being created with a view to encouraging investment and rapid economic
development through increase and diversification of industry, employment,
production and export.
 
He said the current government has implemented mega projects to accelerate
the growth of industries and to take full advantage of our strategic
location.

"Padma Bridge, the country's longest bridge is set to be inaugurated on the
25th of this month ... is expected to boost the country's gross domestic
product by 1.2 percent," he said.
 
The foreign minister said observing of the first ever economic diplomacy week
is significant as it is being held in the context that the global recovery
from COVID-19 is being made difficult by the Ukraine crisis.
 
"The crisis has shown us that, in today's interconnected world, an event
anywhere affects everyone everywhere," he added.
 
Foreign Secretary Masud Bin Momen also spoke among others at the opening
session of the economic diplomacy week.