Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Wednesday asked the business community to take necessary preparations for the possible challenges they will face due to the graduation of Bangladesh as a developing country. “We may face many challenges here. But we’re always ready to face the challenges… We, the Awami League government, have taken the preparations. I would like to ask the business community to take preparations properly,” she said. The Prime Minister said this while inaugurating the 16-day gala celebration, arranged by the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI), on the occasion of the Golden Jubilee of the country’s independence. Read: Return to classrooms, don’t damage vehicles: Hasina to students She virtually opened the grand celebration programme at the Amphitheatre adjacent to Hatirjheel, from her official residence Ganobhaban in the evening. Sheikh Hasina said now Bangladesh has won the status of a developing country. “As a developing country, we’ll get many scopes to take the country forward further,” she said. Describing the AL government as a business-friendly one, she said her government has not come to do business but creates all sorts of scopes for the business community to expand businesses and thus generate jobs for the socioeconomic development of people.

Allaying the apprehension that Bangladesh will finally be a 'loser' as a developing country, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Thursday said the country would be able to avail of much more alternative facilities under WTO rules. “Many people, perhaps, have a doubt that we’ll be deprived of many facilities as a developing country. But we'll be able to avail of much more facilities than what we would be deprived of. It would be a big deal (scope) for us,” she said. The Prime Minister made the remarks while inaugurating the newly-constructed Bangabandhu Bangladesh-China Friendship Exhibition Centre at Purbachal. She opened the eye-catching exhibition centre virtually from her official residence Ganobhaban here. The centre equipped with modern facilities is a permanent venue for different product-based fairs round the year. It was built by the Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) under a project jointly financed by Bangladesh and China. Hasina said Bangladesh is now a developing country. “We’ll be able to avail of the alternative facilities which are available for a developing country under the rules and guidelines of the WTO. So, I think there would be no big problem here.” “We’ll get much more scope to expand our exports and investment in the country,” she said. Read: Hasina unveils state-of-the-art exhibition centre in Purbachal Products diversification The Prime Minister urged the business community to produce quality products, diversify goods, expand the export basket and explore new export markets in order to sustain in the competition of the fast-changing global market. “We’ve to enhance our own capacity for competition to retain our export market. So, I would like to tell our business community to produce quality products considering the changing demand and the specific (export) markets,” she said, asking not to compromise with the quality of goods.    “It’s possible to diversify the country’s export products,” the Prime Minister said, adding that Bangladesh has a great scope to boost export earnings by developing different industries, including digital devices, jute and jute-processed goods and light engineering. “Now we’re producing ICT or digital devices. This sector now can attract investment. I think we’ve a big scope to make the digital devices as the major export product in the future,” she said. About environment-friendly jute and jute goods, she stressed the need for the development of new export products from jutes through researches as people are now much conscious about the environment.    Hasina also asked the manufacturers and exporters of readymade garments, knitwear and textiles, leather, ceramic products, frozen goods, raw and processed fish, light engineering, vegetables, fruits, pharmaceuticals goods, and the products of small cottage industries to explore new markets and assess the demand of products. She said her government will create scopes for Bangladeshi entrepreneurs to invest in foreign countries as well so that they can produce goods and create a market for their items there. “We’re taking preparations for that. We can attract investment and simultaneously we can make investment in other countries as we’ve graduated as a developing country now,” she said.

Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen on Saturday urged the business community to enhance its constructive and result-oriented engagements with the government in responding to the Covid-19 pandemic's local outbreak.