While Bangladesh faces several challenges in trade and business post-LDC graduation, Commerce Adviser Sheikh Bashiruddin believes that the opportunities far outweigh these challenges, urging business community to capitalise on these opportunities.
He made this call during the seminar titled “Diversification of Bangladesh’s Export Basket: Challenges & Opportunities in the Post-LDC Graduation,” held at the FBCCI office in Motijheel, Dhaka, on Wednesday.
“The opportunities ahead are much bigger than the challenges, and only through collective efforts can these opportunities be fully leveraged,” he said while addressing the event as the chief guest. “In business, no country is our friend; everyone is a competitor.”
The Commerce Adviser emphasised that to overcome the post-LDC challenges, industry-specific associations and the business community must collaborate. Acknowledging this reality, he stressed the importance of establishing unity within the business community.
Chairing the seminar, Mohammad Hafizur Rahman, the FBCCI Administrator, pointed out that one of the key challenges Bangladesh will face after LDC graduation is product diversification.
He suggested identifying priority sectors and products that need special focus and developing programs accordingly.
Dr. Khondaker Golam Moazzem, research director of the Center for Policy Dialogue (CPD), presented the keynote paper at the seminar. He advised the business community on how to prepare for the post-LDC policy framework to ensure smooth business operations.
Special guests at the seminar included Mahbubur Rahman, Secretary of the Ministry of Commerce, Dr. Moinul Khan, Chairman of the Bangladesh Trade and Tariff Commission, and Mohammad Anwar Hossain, Vice-Chairman of the Export Promotion Bureau (EPB).
They reassured attendees of the current government’s sincere commitment to addressing the challenges post-LDC graduation and resolving issues within the private sector.
Other attendees included Dr. M. Mashroor Riaz, Chairman and CEO of Policy Exchange Bangladesh, Uzma Chowdhury, Director of PRAN-RFL Group, Mohammad Mizanur Rahman, Executive Director of SQUARE Pharmaceuticals and Director of the Bangladesh Pharmaceutical Industry Association, Shamim Ahmed, President of the Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA), Mashreka Binte Mosharraf, Member of BJMEA and Owner of Creating Connections, and former directors and general council members of FBCCI, along with various business leaders.