US government to open Foreign Commercial Service Office in Bangladesh

The United States government has decided to open a Foreign Commercial office in Dhaka in order to boost its economic ties with Bangladesh.

The announcement regarding the establishment of the Foreign Commercial Office was made after a high-level virtual meeting between Keith Krach, U.S. Under Secretary of State for Economic Growth, Energy and the Environment and Salman F. Rahman, Adviser for Private Industry and Investment to the PM of Bangladesh.

The high-level meeting of the US with Bangladesh is also considered to be an important step by the US as it can be seen as a challenge to China’s presence in the region.

Developing economic relations between the US and Bangladesh:

• As per the press release issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Government of Bangladesh, the high-level economic partnership consultation noted the shared vision of an inclusive, free, peaceful, and secure Indo-Pacific region.

• The United States has also agreed to ask American companies to invest in the key sectors such as IT, energy, agriculture, and pharmaceutics.

• Both nations agreed to implement the reforms to improve the investment climate for US-sourced FDI in Bangladesh.

• While recognizing the importance of an innovative digital ecosystem and secure internet to facilitate the cross-border flow of information and data, both the nations also agreed to have a senior-level conversation to move towards expanding 4G connectivity and developing 5 G networks and services.

Cooperation in the field of energy:

The meeting between the US and Bangladesh also discussed the issues relating to cooperation in the field of energy. They both agreed to establish an energy sector dialogue to facilitate commercial engagement with US energy companies.

It must be noted that the US Department of Commerce has created a U.S.- Bangladesh Energy Industry Working Group to connect US companies to regional market opportunities.

Connectivity between the US and Bangladesh:

On connectivity, both the nations appreciated the signing of the US-Bangladesh open skies air transport agreement paving the way for the direct flights between the two countries.

The United States government also appreciated Bangladesh for the financing agreement to purchase 70 locomotives for Bangladesh Railways to enhance regional connectivity.