As Bangladesh approaches its graduation from Least Developed Country status, we must reimagine our global partnerships. Few relationships illustrate this opportunity better than that with South Korea, a trusted partner since 1973.
To that end, outgoing Ambassador Park Young-sik’s reflections offer a timely reminder that the next phase of Bangladesh-Korea ties must move beyond trade figures into deeper cooperation – in investment, technology, and human capital.
Indeed, we must heed the words of Ambassador Park who, much like most others who have made this observation, have called out the persistent barriers that continue to discourage greater inflow of foreign direct investment, from visa delays, customs bottlenecks, and high tariffs on raw materials being just a few.
Bangladesh must do what it can to start removing these obstacles, not simply to attract more capital from the rest of the world but also signaling that we are now serious about building a competitive, investor-friendly economy. If we are to have better relations with nations such as South Korea, this is simply non-negotiable.
Equally important is the shift from quantity to quality in development. Ambassador Park rightly emphasized that Bangladesh’s future growth cannot rest on expanding volumes alone, and it is innovation, knowledge transfer, and technology partnerships that must become the engines of our future progress.
Bangladesh and South Korea have already signed the Trade and Investment Promotion Framework in 2024 that lays the foundation for collaboration in industrial development, human resource training, and the digital and green economy with South Korea. It is up to us to ensure that we are able to get the necessary benefits from this.
Nations such as South Korea are ready to stand beside us as we take the next step in our development journey. However, for us to maximize the potential of such partnerships, we must reform our investment climate and prioritize innovation-led growth.
