Acknowledging the broader support and popularity of the interim government, European Union (EU) Ambassador to Bangladesh Michael Miller said there should be democratic elections at the end of the process, leading to a new parliament and a government with continued popular mandate. Pay attention to the principle of “rule of law and respect for fundamental rights”.

“For us, these are the principles that underlie the relationship between the European Union and Bangladesh,” the head of the EU Delegation told UNB in ​​his first interview after arriving in Dhaka, adding that the target was “very high”. whereas changes are always “hard”.

The Bangladesh-EU partnership is seen as fast-developing and dynamic; and last year the two sides celebrated 50 years of relations.

Ambassador Miller said that the popularity of the chief advisor and the interim government is very clear and the sense of shared cross-party support is very strong indeed.

He said this was a difficult moment and perhaps not everything (all reforms) could happen at once, but some “quick wins” needed to be achieved.

Ambassador Miller said the government must show that it can move reforms forward. “The ambition is very high. The pressure from the street is extremely strong and there needs to be some quick wins in here somewhere that may still be structural in nature.”

“There needs to be a process leading up to elections. We think it’s very important to conduct this process correctly and give this interim government some time to show that it can reform.” he added.

Miller stated that the implementation was the most complicated process and added that the message he gave to the consultants was that they did not lack resources.

“We certainly don’t lack the political will. Please tell us your priorities and then let us work very closely with you. We can do a lot,” he said.

As a newcomer at a moment of unprecedented change, Ambassador Miller now looks forward to supporting the country’s transition and reform goals, underpinned by values ​​dear to both: good governance, democracy, and respect for fundamental rights.

Generally Good Governance

The first round of negotiations on the new Partnership and Cooperation Agreement (PCA) between Bangladesh and the European Union (EU) was postponed in August.

The ambassador said that they shared a text regarding the new agreement between the EU and Bangladesh with the Bangladeshi side two weeks ago.

The European Union will continue negotiations with Bangladesh on a Partnership and Cooperation Agreement (PCA), and the aim of any future PCA will be to enhance their relationship to include broader policy areas, including climate change and security.

“We are currently preparing a high-level delegation from Brussels that will come to Dhaka in the first week of November, where we will discuss not only the new PCA, but also, of course, the update of the agreement, as well as the Joint Commission with the interim government,” Miller said.

He said that all these are strong political messages and what is important for them, beyond the political message, is that the transition they want should happen smoothly.

“We wanted to have the ambition to implement good governance in all areas. Of course, this period needs to be characterized by respect for the rule of law and human rights, and we see this,” the envoy said. he added.

A Beautiful Story to Tell

Ambassador Miller said that they have a good story to tell about Bangladesh-EU relations and that when he leaves in three or four years, he wants this partnership to be political and rights-based as well as commercial and development-oriented.

There is scope to broaden and deepen the relationship with the work they do, and they have a good starting point.

“But the scope for doing more together will be in the basic political forms that you have initiated and perhaps we can help with,” he said.

The envoy said that he would consider this a good outcome if they could increase foreign direct investments to be more conducive to trade relations.

“With that in mind, we have partnered to establish a European Chamber of Commerce. It’s also about Bangladesh and the EU being on the same page when it comes to the international rules-based order. I can’t imagine Bangladesh being anywhere else. We are aligned, so “We need decisions that reflect common interests and interaction between states,” he said.

The EU is Bangladesh’s main trading partner; as the country is a powerhouse in garments and has benefited superbly from duty-free and quota-free access to the EU market, a reflection of the hard work of its people and the appetite of its countries. worldwide with its products.

The EU says the next chapter in Bangladesh’s success story will be written as it helps the country diversify its economy.

To do this, the EU is encouraging greater investment in infrastructure, connectivity, digitalization and the private sector through the EU’s Global Gateway initiative as a path to safe, open and sustainable economic growth.

In parallel, they are increasing our trade advocacy through a new EU Chamber of Commerce and will of course continue to support decent work and labor sector reforms.

Three Things to Do

The ambassador said that there are basically three things they want to do on the side of trade and economic cooperation.

The first is to help the government deal with the challenges of doing business. “So we need to have a one-stop shop, not a 39-stop shop. It’s very simple. And by doing this, by making things easier, we will find it easier to do this, rather than having to persuade our own economic operators to invest,” he said. Ambassador.

He said that while the trade relationship was “huge” and truly “impressive”, the foreign direct investment relationship was not and did not match them.

He said that Bangladesh’s foreign direct investment stock is 10 times lower compared to some other countries in the region where it competes in the European market, and added that they should work together on this.

The second issue when it comes to the priority of the economic relationship will be how to eliminate bottlenecks.

“So energy supply, customs, but also transport, from ports to markets, all areas where we are very active and where the European Investment Bank is also active,” he said.

So there are efforts to ensure ease of doing business, bottlenecks and then the transition from LDC status to GSP plus, which is graduation, but that’s also seamless, Miller said.

Elçi said that the RMG industry is actually very impressive with its highly developed factories and the factories they visited were absolutely impressive.

“There will be a need for upgrading across the board. You certainly have a huge capacity. The challenge when it comes to LDC graduation is that we will need RMG to ensure that it is a very smooth transition. “To ensure the industry adopts a business model that is fundamentally circular economy, Miller said He said he needed to upgrade.

He said it is very important that the country implements all labor market standards and environmental standards.

“We encourage investment in Bangladesh to enable you to move from a business model that is excellent quality but RMG to something more value-added,” Miller said.

On diversification, he said Bangladesh should conduct research with officials to see which sectors are competitive. “So I imagine it’s skin. It could be medicine. It could be light engineering.”

The reason he is talking about this diversification is that currently the trade relationship is very narrowly focused and the GSP plus approach they have in mind shows that Bangladesh should not concentrate too much.

“So it’s time to plan ahead, see what other sectors you can compete in this incredibly dynamic country and prepare you to enter the European market, which I think is in your interest, but obviously it’s also in our interest.” he added.

Regarding better pricing of Bangladeshi products, the envoy said it was a shared responsibility.

Miller said European consumers care about the reputation of companies that produce their products.

The EU has a strong track record of building people-to-people ties, with a particular focus on young people, he said. Bangladesh is among the most important partners of EU Erasmus+ scholarships. The country also benefits from significant support to higher education institutions.

The Ambassador said that they look forward to working closely with Bangladesh and that they can do more together in international organizations.

“For us, what is happening in Ukraine is absolutely central to the security of Europe. So there is no doubt that this will continue to dominate our political relationship with our partners, including our close partners,” he said.

In the wider world, the EU and Bangladesh have been working together for many years to develop multilateral solutions to global challenges.