EU is keen to enhance engagement with new govt: Envoy

The European Union is keen to pursue and enhance engagement with the new government of Bangladesh to help the country speed up its impressive economic growth.

Bangladesh has shown a very impressive economic performance over the last one decade and the country needs to sustain and accelerate the growth in the coming days, EU Ambassador to Bangladesh Rensje Teerink said at a seminar here today, reports BSS.

“I think sustaining and accelerating this growth is, of course, the real challenge for the new government,” she told the seminar on “Bangladesh-European Union Relations: Prognosis for the Future” organized by Cosmos Foundation at a city hotel.

The EU Ambassador laid emphasis on equal distribution of the benefit of Bangladesh’s economic expansion among all the people saying that poverty can only be reduced partially if the growth dividend is not distributed among all equally.

The Ambassador said the EU welcomes the Bangladesh vision and plan to become an upper middle-income country by 2021 and to graduate from its LDC status by 2024. “Bottom line is that Bangladesh’s story is a success story,” she said.

Foreign Secretary Md Shahidul Haque, who attended the event as the chief guest, said the relationship between Bangladesh and the EU is a very mature and dynamic one as both sides understand each other’s concerns well.