Bangladesh is progressing well in signing of a Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA) with Australia to further boost trade and investment between the two countries.
A TIFA is going to be signed with Australia and that a TICFA (Trade and Investment Cooperation Forum Agreement) was already signed with the USA, officials said. The TICFA would be meant for establishing an annual forum to identify and address obstacles to increasing bilateral trade and investment.
If the TIFA get inked, Australian companies will have the opportunity to easily invest in Bangladesh. At the same time, the country’s exports of ready-made garments, ceramics, medicines and leather goods could be shipped to Australia with duty-free and quota-free facilities, a commerce ministry official said on Thursday.
Meanwhile, the Australian traders have expressed their interest in expanding imports of Bangladeshi products. Meanwhile, Bangladesh has also offered a distinctive economic zone for the Australian entrepreneurs. Bangladesh may import Australian coal on easy terms for the country’s thermal power plantsin Rampal and elsewhere.
In addition to this, Bangladesh has a proposed Australia to export her modern breeds of cows and bulls to Bangladeshi dairy farms. With TIFA in place, all types of trade and investment process will be much easier. Recently, at the initiatives of the Ministry of Commerce and other preparations were made by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for TIFA.Earlier, a similar initiative was taken by the Economic Relations Division of the Finance Ministry. To facilitate trade as Bangladesh graduates from her LDC status to a developing one, Dhaka will need more Preferential Trade Agreements (PTAs) and Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) with various countries in the world.
However, Bangladesh is ready to make big economic deals with richer nations.
Meanwhile, all preparations have been made to sign CEPA (Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement) with neighboring India. The agreement will be signed any time in the presence of the Prime Ministers of both the countries.
In this context, the Secretary of Commerce Dr. Md. Jafar Uddin told The News Times that after Bangladesh’s graduation from LDC status, there may be some challenges in trade and investment areas as Bangladesh may lose some of the commercial amenities that the country had been enjoying as a poor nation.
The Commerce Secretary said to overcome these challenges, the government will sign various trade and economic cooperation agreements. He said a PTA has already been signed with Bhutan. There will be another PTA with Nepal, soon, he added.
Jafarsaid the possibilities of having various trade and investment deals with 11 more countries will take gradually.
He said India is a large country and that there is an indication of having preferential trade with the neighbor.
It is learned that Bangladesh is drawing the attention of Australia, the world’s top coal exporter, for the shipment of coal and natural liquefied natural gas to Bangladesh.
Australia has been urged to take advantage of investing in Bangladesh’s energy sector. Australia’s investment tycoons have expressed their interest in increasing investment in Bangladesh’s infrastructure, especially in energy, power, and information technology and services sectors.
For this reason, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has proposed the establishment of a separate economic zone for the Aussies.
The proposal was made to Australia at a recent meeting, said Foreign Affairs Minister AK Abdul Momen. He said, not only that, there is an attractive and favorable environment for investment for the Australian companies. They have been urged to invest in Bangladesh, he added.
He said investment in Bangladesh is more profitable than any other country in the region. Investment friendly environment exists in Bangladesh.
The government of Bangladesh wants to increase employment that was affected by Coronavirus pandemic.
The foreign minister said Bangladesh is setting up nearly 100 economic zones where any Australian can invest. Besides, there are 26 high-tech parks in Bangladesh and a large number of people are already skilled in information technology to serve others, he said
It is to be noted that bilateral trade between Bangladesh and Australia is currently increasing. In the last financial year, the amount of Bangladeshi products exported to Australia was worth US $ 658.15 million. At the same time, goods worth $ 683.90 million were imported from Australia. However, those concerned say that Bangladesh has a bright potential to increase trade and investment with Australia. There is a huge demand in the Australian market for Bangladeshi garments, ceramic products, medicines, leather goods. Australian traders can further increase the import of these products from Bangladesh.
