Bangladesh wants US to restore GSP

Bangladesh has said the US government should restore the GSP facility and duty-free access of its products to the American market, particularly the RMG, to strengthen Bangladesh’s ongoing fight against extremism. Bangladesh Ambassador to the United States Mohammad Ziauddin conveyed it to US Congressman Gerald E Connolly (D-VA) on Tuesday when they discussed a wide range of issues, including restoration of generalised system of preference (GSP) for Bangladesh. The other issues that came up during one-hour meeting include Bangladesh government’s efforts for empowering women, combating terrorism and religious extremism and Dhaka-Washington cooperation in various fields, according to a message received in Dhaka on Wednesday morning. The envoy said that Bangladesh-US bilateral relations are based on mutual respect and trust and both share same values and objectives. Congressman Connolly, who is the Ranking Member of the subcommittee on Government Operations and member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, is a leading voice on foreign assistance reform, war powers, and democracy promotion abroad in the House. The Ambassador informed that Bangladesh and the US meet regularly under partnership dialogue, security dialogue, military to military dialogue and Ticfa. While discussing the Bangladesh government’s ongoing crackdown on extremists, the Ambassador said Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is herself a victim to terrorist acts. In 1975, Bangladesh's founder Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, who is the father of the present prime minister, was brutally killed along with 18 members of his family. Having such sore past, the prime minister is personally committed to uprooting extremism and terrorism from the soil of Bangladesh. Ziauddin said the government puts high priority on education and women empowerment. He mentioned that 90 per cent of the four million workers in the RMG industry are women, according to a news agency.
- biplab