British High Commissioner Robert Dickson on Monday interacted with the business students of the Dhaka University and pitched the idea of 'free trade' with Bangladesh in post-Brexit era. “As we become Global Britain, we will be developing new partnerships and building on historic friendships. There are few places in the world where these opportunities are greater than here in Bangladesh thanks to the thousands of personal connections between us,” he said.
He said the phenomenal rise of Bangladesh’s readymade clothes industry was due to the comparative advantage which he said ‘can be eroded by competitors’. “That’s why, to maintain growth, Bangladesh needs to move up the value chain and diversify its exports. And what’s good for Bangladesh is also good for the UK – that’s the basis of Free Trade – if our companies can supply or partner yours to help them become more competitive,” he said.
“The British Government believes wholeheartedly in Free Trade as the cement that binds countries together and helps everyone prosper.”
On January 31, Britain left the European Union after 47 years of membership. The UK authorities now say they are a fully sovereign nation able to control their own destiny. That includes trade.
Bangladesh enjoyed duty-free market access to the UK under the EU rules. The British government assured Dhaka of the access even after Brexit. But it will require fresh negotiations. The High Commissioner said between now and the end of the year we will work with the EU to negotiate a free trade agreement, drawing on other recent agreements, such as the one between the EU and Canada. “That should be the core of our future relationship”.
He highlighted the need of international trade for the growth of a country to the students and said “Bangladesh has done remarkably well in the 50 years since independence – something the country can be genuinely proud of. But, to maintain that growth Bangladesh needs more know-how, more jobs and more capital – FDI can provide that.”
“Foreign investments can help upskill a workforce. To give you an example. Many of the managers in Bangladesh’s private banks have developed their careers in HSBC or Standard Chartered – two British banks. The City of London, home to some of the World’s best known financial institutions, can help access capital.”
“As Britain we were there at the start (of Bangladesh),” he said. “Recently I was reading some of the British media commentary from 1971. It is clear that UK opinion during the liberation struggle was overwhelmingly on the side of Bangladesh.” “January 1972 saw Bangabandhu greeted in Downing Street by the then British Prime Minister, Edward Heath. He then returned to a newly independent Bangladesh in an aircraft of the British Royal Air Force. Fifty years on, Bangladesh has the fastest growing large economy in the world. The UK is Bangladesh’s second largest single market and second largest source of international investment.
“Marks and Spencer, Unilever, HSBC and Standard Chartered are some of the British companies doing well here. I would love more to join them,” he said. The people to people inks are close. There are now some 600,000 British citizens of Bangladeshi heritage. This includes four members of the Parliament elected in December as well as doctors, lawyers, entertainers, engineers and, of course, the owners of most of Britain’s Indian restaurants.
“We are seeing evidence of the Bangladeshi diaspora looking for investment opportunities ‘back home’, spurred on by the country’s growth. A nice example of the benefits of bilateral trade,” he said. He concluded his speech by saying that “We in Britain are embarking on an exciting new chapter of our long history. We do so as a confident, independent nation standing up for our values of democracy and free trade. We do so alongside our friends in Bangladesh, a partnership which is evolving as Bangladesh moves towards middle income status.”
Over 200 students from Department of International Business heard his lecture. After that, the High Commissioner replied the queries of the students on UK-Bangladesh diplomatic and trade relationship, ease of doing business, and impact of Brexit on Bangladesh trade. Prior to his lecture, Dickson met Dr Md. Akhtaruzzaman, Vice-Chancellor of the University.
