Bangladesh urges trading partners for responsible business conduct

Bangladesh has urged its trading partners to practice responsible business conduct during the coronavirus pandemic that is rattling the global economy, mostly the developing countries.

"It is no time for economic or trade protectionism. LDCs should be given their previously committed market access," said Ambassador Rabab Fatima, permanent representative of Bangladesh to the UN in New York.

Addressing a virtual meeting on "SDG Financing in the era of Covid-19 and beyond" yesterday, she highlighted the challenges of the disrupted global supply chain and its devastating impacts on exports in countries like Bangladesh where factory workers are losing jobs on a large scale.

Mentioning the pandemic as a global health as well as an economic and social crisis, she told participants that the consequences would be borne by the peoples and economies of the vulnerable countries for years to come.

The SDG implementation plans in many countries are on hold as they are diverting their limited resources to meet emergency health needs as well as to expand social protection system, she said.

Referring to the fall in remittance and the challenge of managing the return of migrant workers for countries like Bangladesh, Fatima said migrants are facing health, socio-economic and protection crisis.

She called upon the migrant destination countries to ensure the rights of migrants and to keep them in their respective response and recovery plans.

The PR informed the meeting that the Bangladesh government has announced a $12.1 billion stimulus package, which is 3.7 percent of its GDP, for various sectors of its economy as well as support measures for different groups.

She underscored the need for a stronger global solidarity and cooperation to overcome this unprecedented crisis and said equitable access to finance will also be a vital step to ensure resilient and sustainable recovery from Covid-19.

"Private creditors as well as the idle private capital should be incentivised for investment in the vulnerable developing countries."

Fatima also called for more vigorous efforts to finance climate actions, which will support the vulnerable countries in building better resilience against any future disaster.