Bangladesh, EU to work for improved health, safety at Ctg port

GBNews24 Desk//

Bangladesh and the European Union (EU) have agreed to accelerate the removal of idle containers from the Chittagong Port premises in order to increase cargo-handling capacities and improve health and safety situation in the port, which is the largest gateway for Bangladesh’s trade with the EU, reports UNB.

In addition, approval would be issued for interchange of empty containers between Dhaka rail and river terminals.

Bangladesh has agreed a few months ago as suggested by the EU to launch a survey to assess the costs and benefits of up to 100% foreign direct investment (FDI) in Bangladesh’s logistics sector.

The issues were discussed at the 7th plenary meeting under the EU-Bangladesh business climate dialogue held in a city hotel on Thursday.

The dialogue aims to jointly facilitate trade and investment from the EU, Bangladesh’s number one trading partner and the second largest source of FDI to Bangladesh.

Bangladesh’s exports to the EU amounted to around €16 billion in the 2021 calendar year, while the EU exports to Bangladesh were to the tune of €3 billion, according to a joint statement.

The plenary was co-chaired by the senior secretary commerce Tapan Kanti Ghosh and EU Ambassador Charles Whiteley.

It was attended by EU Heads of Diplomatic Missions in Dhaka — Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Spain, and Sweden.

Representatives of the numerous Government authorities including the Bangladesh Investment Development Authority (BIDA), Ministry of Shipping, the National Board of Revenue (NBR) and Bangladesh Bank participated in the dialogue, as well as some representatives from the EU private sector.

Both sides took stock of discussions in three priority fields, namely: tax and customs, shipping and logistics, and green business practices.