Proper policies can boost EU investment in Bangladesh: EU ambassador

Proper policies can further boost European Union's (EU) investment in Bangladesh as the EU-Bangladesh relationship continues to evolve, said EU Ambassador to Bangladesh Charles Whiteley.   

"We have a wide range of relationships in Bangladesh. Now the relationship is really changing. Three main strands of this relationship are humanitarian assistance, trade and political relationship. And all of those are evolving," he said at a seminar in a capital hotel organised by the Research and Policy Integration for Development (RAPID) on Tuesday. 

"We don't call ourselves development partners anymore. We need to go beyond that even though development remains an important part of that relationship. This relationship is moving from that kind of donor-recipient psychology to an eye-to-eye relationship," he said, adding that the EU is happy to have been part of the success story of Bangladesh.

About EU investment in Bangladesh, Charles Whiteley said, "We have $2 billion in FDI stock in Bangladesh, while in Vietnam it is $6 billion. I think that can change quickly if the policies are changed from the Bangladesh side. Yes, Bangladesh is a great place to do business," said the EU ambassador. 

Professor Dr M Abu Eusuf, executive director of RAPID, Felix Lolbitz, residential representative of Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (FES) Bangladesh, Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) President Faruque Hassan spoke among others in the seminar.

About preventing money laundering issue from Bangladesh, Professor Dr Imtiaz Ahmed emphasised on the role played by the country where the money is invested.

However, Dr Mashiur Rahman, economic affairs advisor to the prime minister thinks, due to the lack of security in investment in the country, or when people do not get the real exchange rate, they tend to take money to the safe zone.

However, he believes global cooperation is needed to track the source of such illicit money.

Dr Mohammad Abdur Razzaque, chairman of RAPID, in his keynote paper, said, if the GSP Plus policy that the EU is currently discussing is passed, Bangladesh will not get trade preferences in the largest export market after 2029. 

"In that case Bangladesh has to go for the FTA, for which compliance on 32 international conventions including EU carbon deal are required and Bangladesh is lagging behind in that regard," he added.