Bangladesh and the US have expressed their willingness to work together to advance further the bilateral economic partnership to help strengthen the existing friendly relations.
They felt that the advancement of economic cooperation is necessary to facilitate sustainable supply chains and generate more employment.
A joint statement on the outcome of a recent meeting on the 'Vision for Advancing the US-Bangladesh Economic Partnership' made the above observations. The US State Department released the statement on Tuesday.
The meeting, held virtual virtually, was jointly convened by the US Under Secretary of State for Economic Growth, Energy, and Environment, Keith Krach, and Adviser for Private Industry and Investment to the Prime Minister of Bangladesh, Salman F Rahman.
The meeting participants noted that the US and Bangladesh share the common vision of a free, open, inclusive, peaceful and secure Indo-Pacific region with shared prosperity for all, and expressed the hope that the two countries will continue to work together to realise this vision.
The co-chairs recognised the need for bilateral cooperation to help overcome the global economic disruptions, caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.
As post-Covid recovery strategy, Bangladesh stressed the need for expanding domestic demand through public investments in infrastructure and service delivery, and for increasing the rate of foreign direct investment (FDI) inflow to export diversifying sectors.
In this regard, the Bangladesh side indicated that the US investment and technology in local agro-processing sector, agricultural trade and jute sectors could be beneficial. It can promote food security and address the issue of environmental degradation, caused by use of polyethylene-based items.
The meeting also underscored the need for implementing reforms for continued improvement of investment climate for the US-sourced FDI.
These include initiating stakeholders' consultations on ongoing reforms like competitive payment mechanism and insurance market liberalisation, posting all new publicly available regulations and bills in English, and streamlining bureaucratic processes for repatriating profits.
The meeting participants also expressed the hope that fair procurement processes in Bangladesh, in accordance with its Government Procurement Rules, will contribute to further expanding the US trade and investment here, the joint statement said.
The participants encouraged both the governments to continue working together in this regard for their mutual benefits.
In the meeting, Bangladesh welcomed the US government's intention to open a Foreign Commercial Service Office in Dhaka, as well as the continuation of a USAID project that will contribute to further improving Bangladesh's business environment.
The meeting underscored the importance of effective import and export regimes to protect consumers from risks, resulting from falsified or unlicensed products.
On the Blue Economy, the US side praised the government of Bangladesh for hosting the Third Indian Ocean Rim Association Blue Economy Ministerial Conference in 2019.
The Bangladesh side expressed hope that the US will provide Bangladesh with fish detecting technology, either through satellite or SONAR, and transferring technology for fish/seafood processing etc.
On energy cooperation, Bangladesh welcomed the support from the US departments of state, energy and commerce as well as USAID and USTDA under the whole-of-government Asia EDGE (Enhancing Development and Growth through Energy) initiative.
The meeting participants encouraged the relevant stakeholders of the two countries to collaborate and explore the possibility of further expanding LNG footprint as an efficient and clean primary fuel for Bangladesh's power generation.
Regarding the issue of enhancing connectivity, the participants noted with appreciation that the governments of both the countries have signed the US-Bangladesh Open Skies Air Transport Agreement.
The Bangladesh side expressed the hope that the continued positive engagement between the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh (CAAB) will help Bangladesh's efforts to regain Category-1 status under the FAA's International Aviation Safety Assessment (IASA) programme.
It will signify an important milestone in the process of Biman Bangladesh Airlines to resume non-stop services to the US.
The Bangladesh side shared that the government has reviewed its Delta 2100 Plan, and will procure high-quality dredgers of appropriate categories for management of inland waterways in the country.
Bangladesh said it would welcome the reputed US companies will to participate in the international tender process, where a level-playing field for all is ensured by the government.
In the meeting, the participants expressed optimism that the two governments will continue to engage in political and senior official levels to further deepen cooperation and consolidate bilateral ties as well as devise ways and means to overcome the challenges posed by Covid-19 and restore impressive economic growth rates.
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