Speakers at an event in the capital have called for more active participation in the WTO's negotiation process for the continuation of international support measures (ISMs) beyond the country's LDC graduation.
They also emphasised on internal capacity building, export diversification, foreign direct investment and skill enhancement for preparing the country for the post-graduation scenario.
The recommendations came at the seminar on "WTO MC-12: Implications for Graduating LDCs", held at the BIAM Foundation, said a press release.
Support to Sustainable Graduation Project (SSGP) under the Economic Relations Division (ERD) arranged the seminar with commerce secretary Tapan Kanti Ghosh present as the chief guest.
The event was organised to analyse the key takeaways for Bangladesh from the recently concluded 12th Ministerial Conference (MC12) of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) that had taken place in Geneva on June 12-17, 2022.
The seminar also discussed the next course of action, and how Bangladesh should get prepared in the run-up to the next Ministerial Conference (MC-13) of the WTO in the context of its scheduled graduation from LDC status in November 2026.
"Although the outcome of the MC12 fell short of meeting the expectations of the graduating LDCs, it still recognised the need for certain measures for their smooth and sustainable graduation," commerce secretary Ghosh said. "We still need to actively negotiate at bilateral and multilateral level to secure the continuation of ISMs beyond graduation," he added.
ERD secretary Sharifa Khan, who chaired the event, said it is high time for the reforms of the WTO and Bangladesh should take an active role in that process.
She also emphasised on improving productivity, enhancing skill, and technology transfer for increasing competitiveness in the international market.
In his keynote presentation, director general of the WTO Cell of commerce ministry Hafizur Rahman said the submission of the LDC group for continuing ISMs needs to be revised in the context of new global scenario.
In this connection, Mr Rahman also emphasised on conducting studies on graduation issues to support the negotiators while engaging in bilateral negotiations and keeping the developing countries on board.
syful-islam@outlook.com
