At a policy dialogue on Bangladesh-EU relations organised by CPD in association with the European Union Delegation to Bangladesh at the Lake Shore Hotel on 12 May 2012, CPD Executive Director and the event’s keynote speaker Professor Mustafizur Rahman said that he believed that the “Bangladesh-EU partnership will become more diversified and will move away from relatively aid-centred development cooperation to a more comprehensive form of economic partnership.” H E Mr William Hanna, Ambassador and Head of the European Union Delegation to Bangladesh, added that the EU’s relationship with Bangladesh had, “already moved away from a relationship based on charity approach to one of mutual interest.”
Professor Rahman also said that the EU remains Bangladesh’s largest export market, making up 52.2 per cent of its exports, mainly in the areas of knit and woven RMG, shrimp, frozen food and leather. Mr Md Saiful Islam, Chairman, Western Marine Group stressed the need to widen this range of commodities and suggested to include ship-building and pharmaceutical in the list.
Though the EU accounted for 14.9 per cent of Bangladesh’s FDI in FY2010, Ambassador Ashfaqur Rahman noted that excepting the UK and the Netherlands, FDI flow from EU members has tended to be low. On this issue H E Mr Svend Olling, Ambassador of Denmark mentioned that the EU was enthusiastic about channeling FDI to Bangladesh but was unable to do so due to the confrontational nature of politics, hartals and corruption along with economic issues such as lack of land, energy and power and poor infrastructure.
Ambassador Ashfaqur Rahman termed the total amount of remittance coming from the EU ‘disappointing’. He blamed that EU’s migration policy does not allow capable and qualified Bangladeshi citizens to have jobs in the EU countries and send home remittances. Professor Selina Mohsin, Former Bangladesh High Commissioner to the Maldives claimed that with the exception of the UK, “Europe is not positive towards Bangladeshi migrant workers.” She attributed this to migrant workers not being literate or properly trained, and echoed the requests of several other speakers for the EU’s assistance in establishing technical and training centres under Trade Related Technical Assistance.
Speakers stressed that EU should assist in developing infrastructure for special economic zones as developed in China and India. Speakers also suggested EU’s involvement in areas such as female empowerment by providing them access to skill development programmes and climate adaptation in Bangladesh. Dr Atiq Rahman, Executive Director, Bangladesh Centre for Advanced Studies (BCAS) urged EU for assistance in mitigation of the impact of climate change.