Bilateral trade with BD to increase even after Brexit

FT ONLINE

The visiting UK minister of state for Asia and the Pacific at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office has said bilateral trade with Bangladesh would increase even after Brexit.

Bilateral relations between Bangladesh and the UK have always been strong and the trade and economic relations are excellent, Mark Field told reporters after a meeting with commerce minister Tofail Ahmed in the city on Sunday.

He also said Bangladesh has set a humanitarian example by giving shelter to the persecuted Rohingyas in its soil.

Bangladesh is working for humanity and Britain is grateful to Bangladesh, he said while narrating his experience regarding his visit to the Rohingyas camps.

"The international community is with Bangladesh. Britain will continue its supports to Bangladesh on the Rohingya issue," the British state minister said.

Commerce minister Tofail Ahmed hoped that Britain will continue to provide generalised system of preferences (GSP) facility to Bangladesh even after its graduation from the LDC status.

Bangladesh wants to increase its trade with Britain, he added.

The minister said Bangladesh is now the 42nd largest economy of the world and it will become 28th largest economy by 2030.

Bangladesh is now the role model of economic development, he said.

The commerce minister said that Bangladesh has also achieved a lot of progress in terms of women's empowerment.

Around 200 British companies are now operating in Bangladesh. The volume of bilateral trade is now around US$ 4.0billion a year.

Britain is the third largest export destination of Bangladeshi products.