Baroness Winterton, the UK Prime Minister’s Trade Envoy to Bangladesh, met with Sk Bashiruddin, the Commerce Adviser, at the Secretariat on Thursday afternoon.
The two sides talked about a number of topics during the discussion, including the operational preparedness of the third terminal at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport, Bangladesh’s impending graduation from the Least Developed Country (LDC) category and bilateral trade, investment and economic cooperation.
Sheikh Bashiruddin, the Commerce Adviser, confirmed that Bangladesh is ready to graduate from the LDC category and become a developing country by November 2026. According to him, this is a ‘significant milestone’ in the nation’s economic journey.
He further added that the transition will open several new opportunities but will not come without its own set of challenges. Bangladesh is looking forward to continued cooperation and support from the United Kingdom to effectively address these challenges.
Bangladeshi goods would continue to have duty-free market access to the UK until 2029 under the Developing Countries Trading Scheme (DCTS), Baroness Winterton said, reinforcing the UK’s support for Bangladesh’s post-graduation transition.
She added that this will help Bangladesh maintain its export competitiveness during the transition stage. She even stressed on further strengthening bilateral trade and investment relations keeping in line with UK’s commitment and averred that her visit to Bangladesh is focused on exploring new opportunities for collaboration and expanding mutual prosperity.
Sarah Cooke, British High Commissioner to Bangladesh and Md. Abdul Rahim Khan, Additional Secretary (Export) of the Ministry of Commerce, attended the meeting.
