‘Bangladesh Posed Highest Growth Among South Asian Countries During the Covid-19 Pandemic’

In an interview with Dhaka Tribune German Ambassador in Dhaka, Achim Tröster said that Bangladesh has emerged as an important player in South Asia after 50 years of its independence.

The following section has been taken from the Dhaka Tribune Interview.

How do you see the economic development of Bangladesh in the last 50 years?

Bangladesh’s development since its inception has been very impressive. Now after 50 years, Bangladesh has emerged as an important player in South Asia. Bangladesh has a better disaster management capacity and is now self-sufficient in food. At the regional scale, Bangladesh’s economy shows an excellent performance with an average annual growth of about 5%, Bangladesh does have the potential to continue to make rapid progress. The many ongoing mega infrastructure projects are bound to transform the country in the upcoming years. According to PricewaterhouseCoopers, Bangladesh has even the potential to become the world's 23rd largest economy by 2050.

What is the present trade volume between Bangladesh and Germany?

Germany is Bangladesh’s largest export market after the US. Bilateral trade between the two countries amounts to over $7 billion, with Germany importing over $6 billion worth of products, mostly textiles. With the forecasted continued growth and prosperity in Bangladesh, we very much hope that the imports from Germany to Bangladesh will significantly rise in the next few years. 

What are your observations about the business environment in the country?

A lot of observers assert that Bangladesh’s business climate highlights high regulatory uncertainty. Other reported issues are the limited scope of financing, irregularities, complex bureaucracies and problems in swiftly resolving business disputes. On the positive side, the Government of Bangladesh is taking steps to create future markets, diversify products and exports, and increase domestic and foreign investment.  They are also setting up Export Processing Zones (EPZs) in the different parts of the country.

Do you see the impact of the Russia -Ukraine war on the Bangladesh-German bilateral trade?

Putin’s aggression is impacting the whole world order, hence as well as trade relations and supply chains all over the world. We have seen in Germany a sharp rise in inflation, most of all for energy. I would not rule out that a loss of purchasing power in Germany would not in the medium term also lead to receding demand for goods produced in Bangladesh. The war must stop immediately to avoid further loss of human life and negative economic impacts.