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Competitiveness key to avoiding future challenges: Adviser
Commerce Adviser Sheikh Bashir Uddin has urged for efforts to enhance the capacity of traders, alongside diversifying products and reducing production costs, to meet future challenges.
“If we cannot create competitiveness through the participation of the private sector and reduce the production costs of products, many challenges will arise in the future of LDCs. The unemployment rate will also increase in the country,” he said at the closing ceremony of the Dhaka International Trade Fair 2025, held at the Bangladesh China Friendship Exhibition Centre in Purbachal, Dhaka, on Friday.
The adviser also highlighted the government’s efforts to improve the investment environment under the leadership of Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus, noting that these steps align with the aspirations of the people.
On the low participation of foreign companies in the international trade fair, he explained that it is difficult for foreign firms to commit to a month-long event, as they typically participate in shorter exhibitions lasting five to six days.
Despite this, he expressed a desire to boost international connectivity at future trade fairs.
The commerce adviser further remarked that Bangladesh will lose many of its previous advantages as it faces the challenges of LDC status, reports UNB.
“To meet these challenges, local imports will need to be liberalised, and it will no longer be possible for the government to provide export incentives,” he said. “If businesses fail to compete, they will suffer.”
He also mentioned that the government has taken important steps, such as launching the National Single Window, which provides 18 services through a single channel.
The ceremony was presided over by Commerce Secretary Abdur Rahim Khan, with speeches from Md Hafizur Rahman, administrator of the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI) and Md Anwar Hossain, vice chairman of the Export Promotion Bureau (EPB).
The trade fair, which began on January 1, saw participation from 343 domestic and international organisations.
A total of 361 stalls and pavilions were set up, including 11 foreign organisations from India, Pakistan, Hong Kong, Turkey, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore.