Govt launches high-profile Better Business Forum

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The caretaker government has formed a 38-member high-profile business forum, Bangladesh Better Business Forum (BBBF), with the Chief Adviser as its chairperson to maintain institutional relations with the private sector, aiming to boost the country's economic growth, reports UNB.
The public-private forum comprises representatives from the government and the private sector.
A government notification issued Sunday declaring the formation of the BBBF said that against the backdrop of the present international and domestic economic and trade situations it is essential to maintain "favourable and suitable relations" between the government and private sectors to achieve sustainable economic growth, especially in the interest of maintaining an investment and business-friendly atmosphere in the country.
With this view in mind, the notification said, it has been necessary to maintain institutional communication and relations between the government and the representatives of private investors and businessmen.
The adviser to the finance and planning and commerce ministries has been made the BBBF executive chairperson while the executive chairman of Board of Investment (BoI) will act as the Forum's member secretary.
The other members of the Forum are the Industries Adviser, Communications Adviser, Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Adviser, Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs Adviser, Foreign Affairs Adviser, Army Chief, Cabinet Secretary, Principal Secretary or Secretary to the Chief Adviser, Bangladesh Bank Governor, Principal Staff Officer of Armed Forces Division, Chairman National Board of Revenue, Finance Secretary, Commerce Secretary, Industry Secretary, Law Secretary, FBCCI president, DCCI president, CCCI president, MCCI president, Dhaka, BGMEA president, president of Bankers Association of Bangladesh, president of Consumers' Association of Bangladesh, former Professor of Economics of Dhaka University's IBA Mozaffar Ahmed, founder and chairperson of BRAC Dr Fazle Hasan Abed, BKMEA president, BTMA president, former president of Bangladesh Frozen Food Exporters' Association Syed Mahmudul Huq, Managing Director of Reneta Ltd Syed S Kaisar Kabir, director of Kazi Farms Ltd Kazi Zisan Hasan, group chief executive officer of Rahim Afroz Bangladesh Ltd Samir Asaf, MD of Information Solution Ltd Syed Shapir Khasru, chairman of AKTEL, Bangladesh Salahuddin Kashem Khan, chairperson of Bangladesh Tea Association Laila Rahman Kabir and Professors of Dhaka University's Economics Department Dr Md Ali Taslim and Dr SM Asikuzzaman.
The objectives of the BBBF are: Holding fruitful discussions between government and private investors and businessmen on investment in the country and business-related affairs, improving the country's investment atmosphere through identifying impediments, limitations and problems of investment, giving acceptable solutions to problems related to trade and investment through discussions and, if necessary, making recommendations for development of business and investment and providing assistance by the government and other concerned organisations or institutions for their implementation.
Secretaries of the concerned ministries and divisions, noted representatives of businessmen will attend the Forum's meeting on special invitations.
The BBBF will have a Secretariat and it will be attached with the BoI under the supervision of the Chief Adviser's Office.
Two representatives from the civil society would be nominated by the Chief Adviser as members of the Forum and nine representatives, including one woman entrepreneur, from among noted business leaders and two economists would be nominated by the executive chairman of the forum.
The tenure of the nominated members would be one year.
The Forum will sit in meetings at least thrice a year with the Chief Adviser in the chair and at least once in every two months with the forum's executive chairman in the chair.
Besides, necessary working groups would be formed to cooperate with the BBBF in carrying out its works. The working groups will work in various thematic areas like business entry and operation, business financing, Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), and investment promotion, sectoral development, tax policy, import, export (including readymade garments), infrastructure for private sector development, privatisation, ICT and human resource development, domestic industries-small and medium enterprise and women entrepreneurship, World Trade Organisation, and international trade negotiation.
Besides, committees or taskforces based on various issues, affairs or sectors can be constituted.
The working groups will frame activities and recommendations within specific timeframes given by the Forum and place those to the BBBF for implementation.
The working groups will be formed with two co-chairpersons, one government secretary-level official and another high-level representative of the private sector.
There would be five members in one working group-two government representatives and three private sector representatives. Members can also be co-opted in the working group, if necessary.
The co-chairpersons and members of the working groups would be nominated by BBBF executive chairman. The co-chairpersons of the working groups will attend any BBBF meeting on invitation.
The working areas of the working group include evaluation of investment and trade-related non-regulatory matters and formulation of necessary recommendations for the development of those, identifying investment and trade-related regulatory matters for reforms of those and sending those to the Regulatory Reform Commission and formulating working plans accordingly, identification of impediments and problems in investment and providing suggestion to BBBF about those matters, and carrying out other tasks as per the BBBF directives.