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He said the EU is waiting for the reform commissions to conclude and then wants to help. Miller said the visit of the EIB vice president will look to explore how it can use financing to support Bangladesh’s development.
“You get AAA-rated rates of lending interest rates, which you would not if you went to the market directly….,” he added.
BANGLADESH’S REFORMS
The EU is engaging with Bangladesh’s reform commissions to support their conclusions with financing and expertise, said Miller.
“We would support more transparency, accountability, and efficiency in using economic resources, addressing some of the structural impediments, policy challenges, or even how to ensure justice,” Miller said.
FDI, LDC GRADUATION
Miller also said the EU can help Bangladesh by ensuring that the country has smooth LDC graduation, which is possible through protecting labour rights, environmental rights, and human rights.
“We are working with Bangladesh Bank to provide very cheap loans to the RMG sector,” he said.
The EU is also keen to boost its FDI to Bangladesh from only two billion euros now. However, that will need simplifying the business procedures here.
“We are waiting for a clear signal that Bangladesh is ‘open for business’ in the form of efforts to tackle frictions experienced by our investors,” he said.
The EU will work with its member states and work with the European Chamber of Commerce, he said, adding that the interim government has the right intention to improve the business environment.
FORMAL MIGRATION
The EU signed an agreement titled “Talent Partnership Project” in July this year aiming to match EU labour needs with Bangladeshi workers’ qualifications by upgrading relevant skills and providing additional training.
“The project will initially focus on the ICT, construction, textile/garment, shipbuilding, agriculture, and hospitality/tourism sectors, which are of particular interest to a number of EU Member States,” Miller said.
Currently Germany and Italy are active in this and eventually Romania and Greece will be coming in, he added.
GLOBAL GATEWAY INITIATIVE
In 2023, Bangladesh joined the GGI, an EU initiative for worldwide investment to set up networks of transport, energy, digital, research, education and even health -- both through finance and expertise.
Miller said the EU wants to ensure that the partner countries including Bangladesh maintain fundamental rights of their citizens and don’t end up being indebted.
“The EU lending is of extremely good value for Bangladesh and is always going to respect EU procurement rules so you get the best value possible for money and it is always going to give you very high-quality investments,” he said.
“In Bangladesh, you see huge potential for these investments,” he added.