Bangladesh’s first signature in the paper trade agreement

Staff Reporter: >>>>>
Bangladesh has officially signed the Framework Agreement on Facilitation of Cross-Border Paper Trade in Asia and the Pacific Agreement. Commerce Minister Tofail Ahmed, who is visiting Thailand on behalf of the United Nations, on Tuesday (August 29) officially signed the agreement on UNSC’s headquarters, according to the decision of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNSC). Bangladesh is the first signatory country in this agreement. China and Cambodia also signed the agreement. This information was given in a press release signed by senior information officer of the Ministry of Commerce Abdul Latif Baksi.
Earlier, the Commerce Minister spoke to Thailand Bank as the first panelist in the Dialogue on Enhancing Regional Trade Through Effective Participation in the Digital Economy.
Eskay’s Under Secretary General and Executive Secretary Dr. Chaired by Shamsad Akhter, among others, in the dialogue, Vice Minister of the Finance Ministry of Kyatechai Sofstatinung, Minister of Commerce of Cambodia, Sraskak and Chinese ambassador to Thailand.
Commerce Minister Tofail Ahmed said Bangladesh has decided to sign the agreement to take advantage of the paper trade. Imported export offices of Bangladesh, joint stock company offices, Export Development Bureau, important offices have been brought under automation. For the benefit of businessmen, the information portal, the Global Trade wing, has been introduced. Now all these activities are being done online.
In the press release, Commerce Minister Tofail Ahmed said that the airport, seaport, and land port, customs, VAT management digitization system is being done to make import and export easy. More than five thousand digital centers have been opened in remote areas of the country. The number of mobile phone users is 11.9 million and 6 billion seven lakh people are using the Internet. The people of the country are enjoying e-governance, e-commerce, e-banking facilities. In the digital system health services, education, land registration facilities have been ensured.
The minister said Bangladesh has exported goods worth approximately $ 34.84 billion in last fiscal year. This year the export target of 37.5 billion US dollars has been set. The export earnings will be 41 billion US dollars, including the services sector. Exports of Bangladesh will exceed $ 60 billion in 2021.
Tofail Ahmed said that Bangladesh will play a pivotal role in helping foreign trade to achieve export trade targets. The Commerce Minister said, “The United Nations declared an MDG received awards. Now it is working successfully to achieve SDG by 2030. Over the last decade, GDP was more than six percent in Bangladesh. Last year, seven decimal 11 percent has been achieved. As a result, the poverty rate in the country was 24.48 percent and the poverty rate was reduced to 11.9 percent. With the acquisition of SDG, the number of super-poor people will fall below 3 percent. ‘
Tofail Ahmed Commerce will be visiting Sri Lanka on 30th August at the signing of the paper trade in Asia and the Pacific Treaty. Interact with Sri Lanka’s international trade and trade and industry ministries on trade, investment and FTA execution.
Apart from this, he will attend the Second Indian Ocean Conference-017 in Colombo on August 31 to September 2 at the invitation of the India Foundation and speak on September 1 at the Minister’s Panel.
It will take part in the representatives of 29 countries. The theme of the conference is ‘Peace, Progress, and Prosperity.’
The Commerce Minister will discuss the trade and investment related issues related to the respective ministers and policy makers of the neighboring countries of the Indian Ocean. It is expected that the trade and investment of the countries will increase with Bangladesh.