Simplify visa, passport processing

The process of securing visas and passports should be simplified with the cooperation of various countries to boost Bangladesh's trade volume, according to Planning Minister MA Mannan.

"We need to discuss how to reduce difficulties in getting visa and passport facilities so that the country's businesspeople can maintain relationships with their counterparts abroad," he said.

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Mannan made these remarks at a leadership summit, organised by the Indian Ocean Rim Business Forum (IORBF) at InterContinental Dhaka yesterday.

"We have to maintain close relationships with our foreign friends [investors] and expatriates who are currently contributing in business sectors overseas," he added.

Pointing to how Bangladesh has considerable potential for doing business with nations bordering the Indian ocean, Mannan said the country needs to open its own doors in this regard.

"We have to create a mindset to do business with cooperation. We can achieve our sustainable goals through business, increasing production and getting new markets," he added.

The planning minister went on to say that Bangladesh should follow the path to prosperity taken by developed countries such as those in the EU and North America as well as Japan and South Korea.

"We should learn from them how they make the economy prosper," he said.

The minister then said the government will give policy support to businesses when they face various challenges.

Bernd Spanier, deputy head of mission of the EU delegation in Bangladesh, said the recent spike in global inflation is a result of ongoing crises, such as the Russia-Ukraine war.

As such, Double-digit inflation has emerged not just in Bangladesh, but worldwide with Europe being no exception, said Spanier, also the delegation's head of political, trade, press and information.

However, he hopes a solution for ending the Russia-Ukraine conflict will be found soon and result in decreasing inflation.

IORBF hosted the two-day summit, styled "Roadmap for Post-Pandemic Progress", which was presided over by Sheikh Fazle Fahim, chairman of the forum's Bangladesh chapter.

"Due to the global challenges, we are facing inflationary pressures and supply chain disruption," Fahim said.

"From the summit, we are going to submit a proposal on currency swap to the authorities so that we can contribute to reducing pressure on the country's foreign reserve," he added.

Fahim then said it is a long-term plan where they will take suggestions from the existing model that Indonesia uses with South Korea and China.

"We are taking necessary initiatives," he added.