Commitment to continue Bangladesh-EU trade cooperation

The Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister Mohammad Tofazzal Hossain Mia met with the Director General of the Department of Employment, Social and Inclusion Affairs of the European Commission. He held this meeting with the institutions of the European Union in Brussels.

Trade and labor issues were discussed in the meeting. At this time, Bangladesh informed the EU about the developments in these areas. The EU reiterates its interest in continuing and strengthening cooperation with Bangladesh.

Employment DG Joost Korte highlighted the mutually beneficial relationship between the two sides and said that Bangladesh is becoming an increasingly important partner for the EU.

Referring to the progress of implementation of the national action plan in the labor sector of Bangladesh, he highlighted the importance of continuing Bangladesh's commitment.

At this time, there was a discussion about the safety of the factory. Bangladesh has emphasized on massive improvements in workplace safety, sustainable production techniques in green factories, factory inspections, use of technology and advanced machinery.

During the meeting with DG Trade Affairs, the ongoing EU negotiations on the draft GSP law and Bangladesh's transition from EBA status to GSP plus benefits were discussed. Maria Martin-Pratt, Deputy Director General for Trade led the EU. At this time, he encouraged Bangladesh to continue various reforms and emphasized on maintaining consistency with international labor standards.

Due to ongoing pressures on the global economy, food and energy crisis and instability in international financial markets, Bangladesh requested the EU to extend the International Assistance Mechanism (ISM) for another six years after the transition and support negotiations with the WTO.

Bangladesh has also requested that the new GSP provisions under consideration by the European Union protect Bangladesh's trade interests, particularly the RMG sector. Later in the afternoon the Secretary General met with the European Commission's Executive Vice-President's Chief of Cabinet Michael Hager and EU Trade Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis.

Senior Secretary of the Ministry of Commerce Tapan Kanti Ghosh, Bangladesh Ambassador to Belgium and EU Mahbub Hasan Saleh, BGMEA President Farooq Hasan, BUILD President Nihad Kabir, Bangladesh Employers Federation Secretary General Farooq Ahmed and officials of the Bangladesh Embassy in Brussels were with the Chief Secretary.

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