Bangladesh outdoes India and Pakistan in sustainable trade

Bangladesh has surpassed India and Pakistan in terms of sustainable trade on the back of better performance in economic and social areas_ says the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU). The country jumped five places up in the index scoring 49.3 out of 100 and ranked 12th among 20 Indo-Pacific economies. The index measures a country s capacity to participate in the international trading system in a manner that supports the long-term domestic and global goals of economic growth_ environmental protection_ and social capital development. The index is based on 27 indicators and 20 sub-indicators under three pillars  economic_ environment and social. Bangladesh experienced the highest improvement in social development (9th). On the economic front_ the country ranked at the top in the economic growth indicator and performed better in the export market concentration_ gross fixed capital formation and growth in the labour force. The country jumped five places up in the index scoring 49.3 out of 100 and ranked 12th among 20 Indo-Pacific economies_ while India and Pakistan scored 47.1 and 43.9 respectively. In the two previous editions  2016 and 2018  India was ahead of Bangladesh in the index. Pakistan also stood ahead of Bangladesh in 2018. Another South Asian country_ Sri Lanka ranked 9th this year with a score of 50.5. According to the index_ there was a tie for the first place between Japan and South Korea this year_ both receiving overall scores of 75.1 in 2020. According to the International Monetary Fund's recent forecast_ Bangladesh's per capita GDP is set to surpass that of India in the current fiscal year. Agreeing with the country's improvement in sustainable trade as evaluated by the index_ Shams Mahmud_ president of Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DCCI)_ said "Our economic growth has always been sustainable riding on the government's supportive policies." For instance_ the government's stimulus packages and social protection programmes in this time of Covid-19 have helped keep the country's economy afloat_ he added. The Bangladesh Export Processing Zone Authority has been working on optimising the supply chain by bringing all industries together in economic zones_ thus contributing to the sustainable trade_ Shams Mahmud pointed out. Dr Khondaker Golam Moazzem_ research director at the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD)_ said that_ There is still room for improvement in some indicators which will help us stand among the top 10 countries in the economic index. We can improve our performance in economic area with long-term technology infrastructure and more export diversification.