BIDA, MoC, ILO, UNDP ink letter of intent

Bangladesh Investment Development Authority (BIDA), Ministry of Commerce (MoC), International Labour Organization (ILO), and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) today inked Letter of Intent (LoI) for promoting trade and investment for sustainable and inclusive growth.

Chowdhury Ashik Mahmud Bin Harun, Executive Chairman, BIDA; Mahbubur Rahman, Secretary, Ministry of Commerce; Tuomo Poutiainen, Country Director, ILO Bangladesh and Stefan Liller, Resident Representative, UNDP inked the LoI on behalf of their respective sides at a hotel here.

The LoI will recognize supply chains as engines of inclusive growth, productivity, job creation and decent work; support policies that promote fair and rules-based international trade and investments that respect International Labour Standards, promote fair wages and working conditions, mainstream responsible business conduct, and foster value addition along supply chains, as catalysts for economic growth, development, and the reduction of inequalities; enable greater policy coherence, and enhancing engagement with multilateral and international financial institutions, as well as national, regional, and global institutions to advance decent work in supply chains and promote responsible business conduct, in line with International Labour Standards and environment, social and governance (ESG) principles.

Under this Lol, BIDA, Ministry of Commerce, ILO and UNDP have become as the "partners" or "parties" agree to develop a trade and investment ecosystem for sustainable and inclusive growth.

They will develop communities of practice to promote knowledge sharing and capacity building amongst public and private stakeholders.

They will identify challenges and opportunities to promote trade, investment, and good governance policies to support the ecosystem for sustainable and inclusive growth.

They will promote policies and measures to support value addition, the transition to the formal economy, and decent work along supply chains.

The LoI will bridge the interface between the government and private sector to foster a trade and investment ecosystem for sustainable and inclusive growth.

It will organise forums to promote Bangladesh as a destination for responsible investment. The parties will invite thought leaders on decent work, social compliance, and inclusive growth underpinning ESG to dialogue on national, regional and global good practices.

It will streamline business registration, compliance, and access to services, accelerating the formalization of enterprises and the realization of decent work and responsible business conduct across supply chains.

It will establish thematic and sector specific working groups to tackle supply chain disruptions, and promote productivity, decent work, and ESG aligned with International Labour Standards, and best practices.

Under the LoI BIDA and MOC endeavor to organize an annual forum and provide facilities for the thematic working groups.

ILO and UNDP commit to facilitating an online portal, to be hosted by BIDA, to support best practices and programmes on decent work, human development approaches in trade and investments, International Labour Standards, and ESG principles in businesses.