POBNEWS24,Dhaka, Feb 4 , 2025 : Trade Advisor Sheikh Bashiruddin said, “Implementation of the Trade Facilitation Roadmap is essential to meet the challenges of graduating from Least Developed Country (LDC) status. We need to build our skills and competitive spirit to meet the challenges.”
He made these remarks while addressing the 8th meeting of the National Trade Facilitation Committee (NTFC) organized by the Ministry of Commerce at the Biam Foundation Multipurpose Hall in Dhaka on Tuesday.
Lutfe Siddiqui, Special Envoy to the Chief Adviser on International Affairs, was present as the guest of honor at the meeting.
We are going to graduate from LDC in November 2026. Stating that due to this graduation, various rules will come on us in terms of exporting goods in the future, the Trade Advisor said, “The key to getting rid of the shock that this will bring to our economy is to increase capacity. Therefore, we have to increase our competitiveness through efficiency. There is no other option,” he said.
Trade Advisor Sheikh Bashiruddin said, “We have time until 2030. I think it’s a long time. If we graduate from LDC in 2026, I think it’s possible to set a specific goal if our working groups work together.”
Lutfe Siddiqui said, “We need to set a specific time frame and implement the activities. We need to increase capacity, as well as ease of doing business. We want to increase coordination and cooperation.”
The main objective of the Trade Facilitation Agreement is to accelerate the expansion and movement of imported and exported goods by reviewing the rules and procedures related to international trade in the interest of trade liberalization.
The activities undertaken under the Trade Facilitation Agreement are divided into 3 categories (A, B, C). Notifications regarding the implementation of 21 activities in Category A were sent to the WTO on 20 February 2018. Different deadlines were set for the implementation of 18 activities in Category B.
Category B activities have been implemented. Notifications regarding implementation were sent to the WTO on different dates. The latest deadline for implementation of 15 Category C activities is 30 June 2030. Out of these, 5 Category C activities have been implemented and notifications regarding this have been sent to the WTO. The remaining 10 activities are ongoing.
