After CEPA, Bangladesh Agrees to Form Joint Working Group with South Korea

After signing the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), Bangladesh has agreed to form a joint working group of the public and private sectors with South Korea to increase trade and investment. The group will work to identify priority areas of cooperation and to increase contact between businesspeople of the two countries, including through public-private partnerships (PPP).

The consensus was reached on Tuesday at a bilateral meeting in the Korean capital Seoul between Finance and Planning Minister Amir Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury and the country's Trade Minister Jung-sung Park. The information was given in a press release sent by the Bangladesh delegation visiting Seoul.

Present at the meeting were Rehan Asif Asad, the Prime Minister's adviser on posts, telecommunications and information technology, Tanvir Shahriar Gani, special assistant on investment and capital markets, and Md. Shahriar Kader Siddiqui, secretary of the Economic Relations Division (ERD).

The delegation said the proposed working group will include representatives of the relevant government agencies and business chambers of the two countries. They will identify priority-based reforms, investment opportunities and ways to make doing business easier.

At the meeting, Amir Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury said that with the CEPA negotiations concluded, an opportunity has been created to take the two countries' economic relationship to a broader level. In his words: 'We now have the opportunity to go beyond the limits of a conventional textile and readymade garment-dependent partnership and build a broader, technology-based economic relationship with Korea.'

The finance minister mentioned electronics and semiconductors, shipbuilding, renewable energy, artificial intelligence, and digital and creative industries as new areas of cooperation. He also raised the possibility of Korean investment in pharmaceuticals, medical equipment, agro-product processing, logistics and infrastructure.

Amir Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury also informed the meeting of several initiatives taken to improve Bangladesh's investment environment. These include making the process of repatriating capital for foreign investors digital and automatic, and reducing the tariff on raw material imports for the electronics industry from 26 percent to zero. He also spoke of initiatives to simplify customs and port operations. The finance minister emphasised greater use of government-to-government (G2G) and PPP models to implement infrastructure and energy projects quickly.

Korean Trade Minister Jung-sung Park reaffirmed his country's commitment to its long-standing partnership with Bangladesh. He also raised various problems and interests of Korean companies doing business in Bangladesh. Korea will give Bangladesh a consolidated list of these matters.

During the visit, the Bangladesh delegation also met three of Korea's leading companies. At a meeting with Hyundai Glovis President Lee Kyu-bok, logistics, port development and the automobile industry were discussed. The company showed interest in exploring opportunities in Bangladesh. The two sides agreed to form officials-level teams to advance the areas of cooperation.

At a meeting with shipbuilder Hanwha Ocean, shipbuilding, repair and dry-docking, and floating LNG terminal (FSRU) projects were discussed. Hanwha Ocean proposed starting work in phases: beginning first with ship repair and maintenance, and later moving to higher-value shipbuilding. The two sides agreed on technical discussions and a follow-up visit.

The delegation also met Samsung Electronics President Kim Woo-jun. Cooperation in electronics production, artificial intelligence and developing a skilled workforce was discussed at the meeting. The finance minister called on Samsung to expand its operations in Bangladesh. Kim Woo-jun expressed interest in further cooperation with Bangladesh in the future.

The CEPA between Bangladesh and South Korea was signed in Dhaka on 4 August. Under the agreement, 97 percent of Bangladeshi products will receive preferential tariff benefits in the Korean market. In return, 87 percent of Korean products will receive the same benefit in the Bangladesh market. The agreement was finalised after five rounds of talks that began last August. After India, Bangladesh is the second South Asian country with which Korea has made such an agreement.

According to commerce ministry data, trade between the two countries is now about $1.39 billion a year. Of this, Bangladesh exports about $490 million worth of goods to Korea. In return, it imports about $900 million worth of goods. That means Bangladesh's trade deficit with Korea is about $410 million. The bulk of Bangladesh's exports to Korea is readymade garments.