CanCham Bangladesh calls for support for Canada in UN Security Council election

The Canada Bangladesh Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CanCham Bangladesh) has urged Bangladesh to vote for Canada in an upcoming election to elect a UN Security Council member.

The United Nations plans to hold the election in New York in June to fill the rotational seats on the UN Security Council for 2021-2022. Canada, Ireland and Norway are vying for a seat.

"Bangladesh is a close friend and ally of Canada. We, as Bangladeshis, have to ask ourselves which candidate can best represent our views and interests in the most important body in the UN system during these challenging times? Canada has a proven track record," said a press release from CanCham on Tuesday. 

It further said Canada is accessible and nimble and can play a positive and constructive role on the Security Council. 

It also said Canada will continue to leverage its membership in many international institutions and will unite forces, leaving no one behind to support a post-Covid-19 global system that is better prepared to serve all countries.

"Canada understands that peace requires economic opportunities both to prevent conflict and to maintain fragile truces. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau made this one of the cornerstones of Canada's presidency of the G7 in 2018," reads the media release.

Now, in the face of this pandemic, Canada is redoubling efforts to address debt relief, supply chains and food security.

"Voting for Canada for a seat on the Security Council is endorsing this innovative, holistic and effective approach to security," said the CanCham.

"The UN, which is celebrating its 75th anniversary this year, cannot rely on past accomplishments. It must continue to adapt and innovate. Canada is a young multicultural nation, very much the mirror of the worId. It has the humility to listen and to represent a broad range of views at the Security Council table," it added.

Leveraging their privilege of duty -free market access, Bangladesh's exporters to Canada have seen their sales grow by leaps and bounds over the last several years.

As a result, the bilateral trade figures hit an all-time high in 2019 calendar year, reaching approximately Canadian $3.2 billion, a 36 percent increase from the previous year.

Bangladesh enjoys a significant trade surplus over Canada whereby the ready-made-garment (RMG) sector contributed more than 92 percent of exports from Bangladesh, an increase of 15 percent from the previous year.

This is not surprising because since 2004, Bangladeshi exports have had duty-tree access to the Canadian market, and Canada is a proud importer of not only RMG products, but also leather, textiles, seafood and pharmaceuticals.