Trade Advisor Sk. Bashir Uddin today said Bangladesh needs to strengthen the capacity of various trade organizations and human resources to reap the benefits of graduation from the LDC group.

“This (the graduation of LDCs) indeed marks a pivotal moment for the economic situation. Accordingly, to benefit from the graduation, we also need to strengthen the capacity of different business organizations and human resources,” he declared.

The trade adviser said this while opening the three-day national workshop on WTO dispute settlement at a hotel in the city.

Chaired by Commerce Secretary Md Selim Uddin, Director of Legal Affairs Division of the World Trade Organization (WTO), Jorge Castro, spoke on the occasion while Additional Secretary of the WTO wing of the Ministry of Commerce, Dr. Nazneen Kawshar Chowdhury, delivered the welcome address.

Jointly organized by the Ministry of Commerce and WTO, the workshop is supported by the Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) and FBCCI.

Bashir also hinted that Bangladesh was set to graduate from the LDC group in November 2026.

Calling it a “golden opportunity” for all, the advisor said: “I think as commerce evolves, more and more schemes evolve. So the ideal word should be to have no disagreements… But you will. there are certainly disputes, “

Since Bangladesh is graduating, Bashir said that on the country’s foreign trade front, many issues would evolve by exporting something to the trading partners.

“I think our exports are not diversified because our export basket is highly dependent on a single product,” he added.

The trade advisor said: “As we graduate, we need these soft skills to be able to maintain and grow our trading volumes. »

He said that after graduation, Bangladesh would engage in bilateral and multilateral negotiations to sign the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) and the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA).

“In addition, we will collaborate with regional business groups such as EU, SASEC, ASIAN, etc. Various disputes will arise during negotiations with different countries and regional business groups,” he added.

The workshop focuses on the fundamental features of the WTO dispute settlement system and the main players in the WTO dispute settlement system.

In addition, it briefly discusses the WTO agreements, the fundamental principles of the GATT, the decision-making process and dispute-related issues.

The advisor hoped that the participants of this course would gain knowledge about the role of WTO dispute settlement in the multilateral trading system, the main stages of WTO dispute settlement procedures, the role of complainant, respondent and a third in a WTO dispute. dispute resolution issues.

Furthermore, as a member of the WTO, he said Bangladesh had an interest in ensuring that the WTO dispute settlement system remained the central element in ensuring security and predictability in the multilateral trading system.

This is particularly important for developing countries, including LDCs, which benefit from stability, consistency and predictability in both cases.

Following this workshop, the Business Advisor said participants would be aware of the underlying structures and procedures as well as the application of the rules.

Officials from the Ministry of Commerce, WTO, different government organizations, representatives of trade organizations and academics from different universities are participating in the workshop.