FBCCI President Md Jashim Uddin has urged people to abide by the rules and regulations imposed by the government to prevent the third wave of the Corona epidemic. He also said lockdown is not a solution.
He made the call at the Meet the Reporters program organized by Dhaka Reporters' Unity on Wednesday morning.
Responding to the questions from reporters at the Nasrul Hamid Auditorium of Dhaka Reporters' Unity, the FBCCI Chief said that lockdown is not a solution to prevent epidemics, but rather it increases the misery of low-income people and affects the country's trade and economy the most.
At present a lot of orders are coming in the export industry of the country. Once again, the lockdown decision will actually disrupt the industry's momentum, which will hurt the economy in the long run.
The countries that have decided to impose lockdown are the ones that have suffered the most. Therefore, FBCCI President Md Jashim Uddin commented that the most effective way to curb this epidemic is to adhere to proper health protocols and government regulations.
Earlier in his speech, the FBCCI president said the main obstacle to foreign investment so far was the lack of adequate infrastructure. But now, various development projects undertaken by the present government, including Padma Bridge, Karnafuli Tunnel, Metrorail and 100 economic zones, have resulted in investment-friendly infrastructure in the country.
Meanwhile, the FBCCI president urged banks to lend more to small and medium enterprises. He suggested that banks should allocate a certain amount of total loans to small entrepreneurs.
Bangladesh will face several challenges to protect local industries after the LDC graduation. In order to meet these challenges, it is important to have free trade agreements with different countries.
The six blocks account for 90 percent of world trade. Therefore, FTA can be done with the six blocs - Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), European Economic Union, USA, EU, UK and African Continental Free Trade Agreement, said FBCCI President Md Jashim Uddin.
He emphasized increasing the capacity of various ministries, including the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, to negotiate in the post LDC challenges. FBCCI is going to set up an innovation center to enhance the capacity of the private sector.
This will accelerate research and development in various sectors. To enhance the FBCCI's own research capacity, 18 experts from various fields have been appointed as panel advisors. The FBCCI will play a more effective role in formulating various policies based on their analysis and opinions.
In order to address the post-transformation challenges of developing countries, Internal Resource Mobilization and Tariff Rationalization, Global Market Access 2021-2026 & Beyond, Investment Measures for Sustainable Inclusive Development and Sustainable Export Development, Subsidies and Incentives have been formulated.
The responsibility of implementing various policies of the government lies with the private sector. But these policies are not discussed with the concerned sector before formulation. Therefore, during the implementation, private sector entrepreneurs have to face various problems. Therefore, FBCCI President Md. Jashim Uddin urged to discuss with the stakeholders before formulating the policy and conducting the impact assessment of the policy.
President of the Dhaka Reporters Unity Nazrul Islam, General Secretary Nurul Islam Habib and Organizing Secretary Abdullah Al Kafi were also present at the Meet the Reporters program organized by Dhaka Reporters Unity.
