Maintain BD's market facility in post-LDC era

Commerce Minister Tipu Munshi has urged Commonwealth countries to maintain duty and quota-free market access for the next six years after Bangladesh's graduation from the Least Developed Country (LDC) club.
He made this request at the Commonwealth Trade Ministers Meeting held on June 5-6 at Marlborough House in London.
The minister has also requested the assistance of Commonwealth countries on market access facilities in garnering support at the 13th ministerial conference of the World Trade Organization (WTO) to be held early next year.
Mr Munshi noted that the world's economic situation has become dire due to the Covid-19 pandemic and the subsequent Russia-Ukraine war.
He pointed out that newly transitioning LDC countries will face challenges and difficulties if they do not receive preferential trade facilities. Therefore, he called for continuing market access for at least six years after graduation.
The commerce minister also highlighted Bangladesh's leadership in the Commonwealth's "Business-to-Business Connectivity Cluster" and its efforts to achieve an intra-Commonwealth trade target of US$2 trillion.
He emphasised the importance of inclusive and sustainable trade, by saying that trade and investment can play a supportive role in addressing global challenges.
He called for collaborative efforts to identify and tackle ongoing problems and challenges in order to build an inclusive, sustainable, and stable global economy.
Tipu Munshi mentioned that Bangladesh is one of the first Asian countries to ratify the framework agreement to facilitate cross-border paperless trade in the Asia-Pacific region. The government is currently preparing a national roadmap to develop a paperless trading system.
The participating ministers acknowledged the need for increased cooperation and stronger partnerships to achieve the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, especially in developing, least developed countries and small and vulnerable economies.
They expressed their commitment to deepening Commonwealth trade and investment and stressed the necessity of taking more ambitious steps to increase intra-Commonwealth trade to US$2 trillion by 2030.
Bangladesh is expected to graduate from least developed country status in 2026.

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