UK considers Bangladesh ‘catalyst’ for good things happening in the region

The visiting British minister for development has said they are looking at new ways of development partnership with Bangladesh as the country is transitioning to a middle-income one.

International Development Secretary Penny Mordaunt says this partnership is “incredibly important because not only we want to see Bangladesh’s progress continue, but we think that it is a nation which could be a catalyst for so many other good things happening in the region”.

She was interacting with a group of journalists before leaving Dhaka on Tuesday, ending a three-day tour.

She said during her stay, she had been discussing with her team and the ministers she met and the private sector “to look at how we develop our partnership".

One of things she was talking about was ‘education’.

“We want to strengthen our education partnership,” she said adding that they can also offer innovative ideas around finance and access to market as Bangladesh is going to become a middle-income country.

Apart from Rohingya issue, Mordaunt said one of the purposes of her visit to Bangladesh was to discuss how to take forward the development partnership forward between the countries.

“Some really exciting things are happening,” she said, adding that she met the private sector apart from ministers during her visit.

The international development secretary said they would focus on Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina objective “to grow the economy and to really lift people put of poverty".

“Obviously DfID is a key partner for that,” she said.

Asked about the post-Brexit trade ties, Mordaunt said the first priority will be to continue trade.