Cargo ban won’t affect BD exports: German envoy

Ban on direct cargo flights from Bangladesh to Germany will not affect the country’s exports, according to German Ambassador Thomas Prinz.

After Australia and the UK, Germany on June 26 imposed the ban on direct cargo flights from Bangladesh due to security concern.

The ban means any cargo flights from Bangladesh to Germany must be rescreened at a third-country airport.

Talking to reporters at the Bangladesh Secretariat, the ambassador today said only the cargo ban would not hamper exports to his country as almost all of the goods are exported through ships.

Prinze told this following a meeting with Finance Minister AMA Muhith at his office.

The German ambassador also brushed aside the effect of Brexit. “Only one member [United Kingdom] left the European Union (EU).”

Hence, trade and commerce with the other member-countries would not hamper with any nations including Bangladesh, he added.  

“Because of information provided by our law enforcement authority and intelligence services” all cargoes and mail consignments originating from Bangladesh pose a risk to aviation security, said a notice of the Federal Aviation Authority of Germany.

The German authority also sent a letter to the Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh (CAAB).