Photo: Collected
European Union (EU) Ambassador Charles Whiteley on Monday (22 April) said the EU is now in a phase of "future-proofing” their relations with Bangladesh, signaling a premium on conserving or preserving the relationship, by engaging widely.
“This is a very important partnership. It's an indispensable relationship. And we are working on all fronts with this government (of Bangladesh) to our mutual benefit. Bangladesh is a very valued partner across many different policy areas, not just development,” he said, highlighting engagement in the areas of economy, climate change, migration and political issues.
He said they are now living through very dangerous times globally and lots of terrible events happening around the world.
“And when you have terrible times, you need to hold your friends closer. And Bangladesh is a very close friend of the European Union. And we have many things in common that we want to achieve globally,” said Whiteley.
He observed that they are all facing another downturn in the European economy. “But I'm confident that that will turn around and Bangladesh is extremely competitive - you see that not only competitive in terms of price, but also competitive in the garment sector in terms of beginning to make sure all environmental social criteria are met.”
He said Bangladesh has a very strong advantage, certainly in the European market. “As you'll also know, we're quite a demanding customer, I have to be frank, we're demanding not just in terms of the buyers, but in terms of the rules that were applying to the inputs that come to the EU.”
Messenger/Mumu
