DHAKA, July 8, 2024 (BSS) - State Minister for Finance Waseqa Ayesha Khan today said that international trade digitization would play an important role in expansion of international trade and ensuring sustainable and inclusive development of Bangladesh.

She said traditional trade involves a lot of documents and processes.
 
"However, with trade digitalization, documents can be sent and verified quickly and businesses can be conducted from anywhere, which will reduce the cost and time of the businesses and thus make the transaction faster and safer," she said.

The state minister for Finance said this at the opening ceremony of a workshop titled "Digitalization of International Trade of Bangladesh" organized by the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), Bangladesh held at a hotel in the capital.

Mentioning that Bangladesh is a country which is mainly based on exports, Waseqa said digitization is very important for Bangladesh's border trade and international transactions.

She said that the government would provide all necessary support for the development of digitalization in international trade.

The state minister of Finance said since Bangladesh would become a developing country in 2026, there is a need to develop all stages of the economy.

"Especially, there is no alternative for increasing the tax-GDP ratio to maintain the ongoing development activities. Therefore, initiatives have been taken to provide seamless services to taxpayers, businessmen and citizens through the use of automated and digitalized systems in income tax, customs and VAT under the National Board of Revenue (NBR)," she added.

ADB Country Director Edimon Ginting, UNESCAP Director Rupa Chanda and ITFC Regional Head Iftekhar Alam spoke at the workshop presided over by ICC Bangladesh President Mahbubur Rahman.

ICC Bangladesh Banking Commission Chairman Muhammad A. Rumi Ali gave the address of welcome. Standard Chartered Bank Chief Executive Officer Naser Ejaz Bijoy gave the closing remarks.

Officials of the Ministry of Commerce, NBR, Bangladesh Bank, Commercial Banks and Corporate Institutions participated at the workshop.