The first and second Bangladesh-United Kingdom (UK) trade and investment dialogue will soon take place in Dhaka to discuss bilateral and investment issues between the two countries, Commerce Minister Tipu Munshi said today.

The minister also said the third meeting of a joint working group of both countries would take place shortly as they have already held the first two, according to a statement from the commerce ministry.

Munshi also urged the UK to extend duty benefits on exports of Bangladeshi goods after the country's LDC graduation as the UK has already extended the facility up to 2029 under its Developing Countries Trading Scheme (DCTS).

Munshi was speaking at a meeting with a British trade delegation at InterContinental Dhaka. A British trade delegation is visiting Bangladesh led by Nigel Huddleston, minister of state at the Department for Business and Trade.

Currently, the UK is the third largest export destination for Bangladesh and in fiscal 2022-23, the country exported goods worth $5.31 billion to the UK and imported goods worth $450 million, according to commerce ministry data.

Huddleston requested Munshi to quickly resolve some challenges faced by British businesspeople in Bangladesh, the statement also said.

In Dhaka, Huddleston is scheduled to visit Intertek, a UK company supporting supply chains in Bangladesh by providing bespoke testing services. For example, ensuring manufacturers meet product safety standards, said a statement from his ministry.

This visit comes a month after the UK's world-leading Developing Countries Trading Scheme (DCTS) came into force, making it easier for Bangladesh and other developing countries to trade with the UK.

Bangladeshi exporters now benefit from simpler and more generous rules of origin, which means that they will be able to produce goods using components from many other countries and still export them with zero tariff to the UK.