Enhancing Rail-Based Trade Connectivity in BBIN Region

Bangladesh has formed a national committee, led by the commerce adviser and Beza’s executive chairman, to evaluate the feasibility of establishing Free Trade Zones (FTZs), as announced on April 21, 2025. This move follows the Bangladesh Investment Summit (April 7–10), where attracting foreign investment, boosting exports, and creating jobs were key topics.

The Chittagong Port Authority (CPA) has revised the cost of the Bay Terminal Marine Infrastructure Development Project to Tk13,525.27 crore—down from an initial estimate of Tk14,600 crore—following evaluation committee recommendations.

Bangladesh and the European Union (EU) held the first round of negotiations on the Partnership and Cooperation Agreement (PCA) on April 10, 2025, in Brussels, aiming to finalize the agreement by 2026. The PCA seeks to establish a comprehensive framework for enhancing cooperation in areas like trade, investment, climate action, digital transformation, migration, human rights, and security.

UK Trade Envoy to Bangladesh, Baroness Rosie Winterton, emphasized the UK's commitment to deepening economic ties with Bangladesh during her first official visit. Highlighting the UK's role as Bangladesh's third-largest export market for ready-made garments and a top foreign investor, she stressed the goal of enhancing bilateral trade and investment.

In FY24, Bangladesh's business competitiveness has declined due to rising costs in logistics (15–20% of production expenses vs. Vietnam’s 9–11%), energy (high reliance on imported LNG and furnace oil), and finance (lending rates above 13% compared to Vietnam’s 7–9% and India’s 8–10%).

Bangladesh and the UK strengthened economic ties through trade and investment discussions in London from March 10-13, focusing on education, aviation, and renewable energy. UK Investment Minister Baroness Gustafsson and BIDA Executive Chairman Ashik Chowdhury explored expanding foreign direct investment (FDI) and bilateral business cooperation.