Economic diplomacy, governance essential to boost growth

Image collected : Syed Ershad Ahmed
Absence of vibrant monetary diplomacy and lack of ample research on markets and products are hindering the country's export potentials, President of American Chamber of Commerce and Industry (AmCham) Syed Ershad Ahmed said recently.Lack of vibrant monetary diplomacy and insufficient ample research on markets and products are hindering the country's export potentials, President of American Chamber of Commerce and Industry (AmCham) Syed Ershad Ahmed said recently.

Within an interview with the FE, he also stressed the need for proper enforcement of rules linked to intellectual property rights (IPR), improvement of governance, and development of human resources for attracting more foreign direct investment (FDI) to the country.

Mr Ahmed said the AmCham, within its drive to promote investment and trade, will probably organise the 27th edition of the united states Trade Show in Dhaka.

About the investment scenario between your two countries, he said the united states is the single major investor in Bangladesh with investment volume worth US$ 3.5 billion.

"More US companies will invest here, if we are able to enforce the rules linked to IPR. Presently implementation of the rules is nearly absent." 

In this connection he also remarked that there is also a dearth of skilled manpower in lots of sectors. 

"We have satisfactory manpower, but this manpower ought to be made skilled and efficient through proper education and training."

He observed that the Bangladesh missions abroad are not showing up to the mark performance to advertise trade and investment.

"Economic diplomacy can play a essential role to advertise our products and fetching investment to the united states. But unfortunately, our missions are lagging behind in this arena." 

On bilateral trade between Bangladesh and the united states, the AmCham president said it has jacked up to $ 9.0 billion this past year.

Mentioning the role of Trade and Investment Cooperation Forum Agreement (TICFA) in boosting the bilateral trade, he said when both countries signed the agreement in 2013 the trade volume was $ 5.0 billion dollar.

The bilateral trade keeps growing towards Bangladesh, which exported products worth $ 6.6 billion, whereas its import from the united states was $ 2.3 billion.

The AmCham president said withdrawal of the united states Generalised System of Preferences (GSP) facility hasn't damaged Bangladesh's economy much.

"We need to go to the World Trade Organisation (WTO) forum, if you want to obtain it back. Our main export is RMG, that was out of purview of the GSP programme. So, the withdrawal has not damaged our main export sector." 

Moreover, the country will be elevated to a middle-income country next year. So, it is best to look forward instead of wasting time on regaining the GSP. 

Mr Ahmed, who is also a former president of the Foreign Investors Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), said Bangladesh must concentrate more on diversification of its products.

"Presently, we are in the third position in RMG export to the US with $ 6.5 billion export volume. While China may be the top RMG exporting country with $ 24 billion, and Vietnam may be the second greatest exporter with $ 13 billion. We've the potentials to improve our RMG exports to $ 10-15 billion." 

"We need to improve product quality, become more competitive and innovative," he noted while suggesting the measures to promote exports to the united states market.

In this connection, he said four seminars will be held on the sidelines of the united states Trade Show, that will focus on the methods to promote investment and boost bilateral trade.

Mr Ahmed said when the US Trade Show was initially held in the united states, the bilateral trade volume was in million-dollar level, which has grown to $ 9.0 billion over the years.

This can be an exemplory case of contribution of the show to market trade between your two countries, he added.
Source: https://thefinancialexpress.com.bd

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