The Production Transformation Policy Review (PTPR) of Bangladesh is the result of an in-depth policy review and consensus-building process. The PTPR process was co-ordinated by the OECD Development Centre. It benefitted from co-operation with the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD). Ragnheiður Elín Árnadóttir, Director of the OECD Development Centre, Paul Akiwumi Director, Division for Africa, LDCs and Special Programmes, and Richard Kozul-Wright, Director, Division on Globalization and Development Strategies at UNCTAD oversaw the partnership that guided the implementation of the PTPR process.
The PTPR process and the report were conducted under the strategic guidance of Annalisa Primi, Head of the Economic Transformation and Development Division at the OECD Development Centre. Manuel Toselli, PTPR Coordinator in the Economic Transformation and Development Division, was the lead economist for this PTPR, benefitting from the collaboration of Giovanni Valensisi from UNCTAD’s Division for Africa, LDC and special programmes. The report was drafted by Annalisa Primi, Manuel Toselli, Vasiliki Mavroeidi and Giovanni Valensisi. Antonio Vicencio supported the project’s implementation through data collection and analysis. Abdul-Fahd Fofona, Edoardo Pontecorvi. Harry Mathers from the OECD Development Centre and Piergiuseppe Fortunato and Fareha Raida Islam from UNCTAD contributed to the research and the implementation of project-related activities. Mereseini Bower, Inter-regional Adviser in the UN Secretariat of the Committee for Development Policy, UNDESA, Daniel Gay, former policy analyst at the OECD Development Centre, and Roni Mazed, Development Coordinator and Economist at the UN Resident Coordinator Office in Bangladesh, joined the PTPR field missions and contributed to shape the analytical content of the report. Several colleagues from different international organisations provided useful comments and suggestions, including Lorenzo Pavone from the OECD Development Centre, Stephen Thomsen, Fernando Mistura and Katharina Bohm from the OECD Directorate for Financial and Enterprise Affairs, Bejraoui Aussama from OECD Development Co-operation Directorate, Anders Isaksson from UNIDO, and Annalisa Prizzon from the Overseas Development Institute. Delphine Grandrieux oversaw the publication process. The report benefitted from editing by Andrew Brenner.
This PTPR benefitted from two international peers. We are grateful to Taffere Tesfachew, Acting Managing Director, UN Technology Bank for the LDCs, for the support and wisdom that enhanced the rigour and breadth of the PTPR process, and to Tran Toan Thang, Director of the Department of Industrial Forecast and Enterprise Development, National Center for Economic Forecast and Information, Viet Nam, for his inputs and perspectives from Viet Nam.
The PTPR of Bangladesh was requested by the Ministry of Commerce of Bangladesh. We are thankful to Tipu Munshi, Minister of Commerce, and Tapan Kanti Ghosh, Senior Secretary of the Ministry, for leading the PTPR process in Bangladesh, sharing knowledge and ensuring co-ordination with all relevant private and public sector bodies in the country. We are also particularly grateful to the WTO Cell in the Ministry of Commerce of Bangladesh, which was led by the PTPR Local Team. Special thanks go to Hafizur Rahman, Additional Secretary of the WTO Cell at the time of project implementation, and to Farhana Iris Joint Secretary, who took over in the final stages of the process. We also gratefully acknowledge Mahadi Mahamud Akanda Senior Assistant Secretary and the entire team at the Ministry of Commerce for their effective support. We are also particularly appreciative of contributions from Ambassador Khondker M Talha, Ambassador of Bangladesh to France. We extend our thanks to Dilara Begum, commercial counsellor in the Embassy of Bangladesh to France in the initial phases of the PTPR implementation, and Mizanur Rahman, the current commercial counsellor.
This PTPR process benefitted from deep and effective collaboration with the European Union Delegation to Bangladesh, which allowed us to test the assessments with EU and OECD partners in Bangladesh. We are particularly grateful to Ambassador Charles Whiteley, EU Ambassador to Bangladesh who provided strategic guidance and advice throughout the whole process, sharing his knowledge about the country and vision for shared prosperity. The colleagues of the European Union Delegation to Bangladesh provided useful inputs, guidance and organisational support throughout the entire PTPR process. In particular, we are grateful to Bernd Spanier and Jeremy Opritesco, current and former Deputy Heads of Delegation, and Abu Syed Belal, Advisor for Trade and Economic Affairs.
As this was the first PTPR implemented in an LDC, we are grateful to José Antonio Ocampo, former Minister of Finance of Colombia and former chair of the CDP, Keith Nurse member of the CDP and Roland Mollerus, Chief of Secretariat of the CDP (UNDESA) for the strategic discussions on how to make the PTPR process relevant in the global LDC context. We are also grateful to Hang Tran, Senior Coordinator at the Enhanced Integrated Framework (EIF/WTO) for sharing her knowledge and facilitating co-ordination with the Ministry of Commerce in Bangladesh and the ongoing trade diagnostics studies.
Valuable inputs for this PTPR report originated from the PTPR Peer Learning Group hosted (online) in September 2022, with the participation of 14 high-level delegations representing countries from Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the OECD (10 OECD member countries and 4 non-OECD member countries), and 9 international organisations. We are thankful to Zeaul Alam Paa, Senior Secretary of Information and Communication Technology Division, Bangladesh; Mounssif Aderkaoui, Director of Studies and Financial Planning Ministry of Economy and Finance, Morocco; Ariful Haque, Director, Bangladesh Investment Development Authority (BIDA), Bangladesh; Arvind Gupta, Head & Co-Founder, Digital India Foundation, India; Karl-Christian Göthner, Senior Expert, German National Metrology Institute (PTB), Germany; Hyo Yon Lee, Director, Invest Korea, KOTRA, Korea; Enrico Nunziata, Ambassador, Embassy of Italy in Bangladesh, Italy; Khairul Amin, Additional Secretary, Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Division, Bangladesh; Adrian Kuah, Director, Futures Office, National University of Singapore, Singapore; Alessandro Zucchi, President, Association of Italian Textile Machinery Manufacturers (ACIMIT).
The PTPR is the result of an extensive and open consultation with diverse stakeholders during two country visits to Bangladesh in May and October 2022, which included the following activities:
Two roundtables for production transformation in Bangladesh. Participants discussed strategies, policy tools, and partnerships needed for sustaining the electronics and pharmaceutical industries at two separate roundtables. Both events brought together 50 representatives of private and public sectors who have been key in sharing their views about the future and shaping the content of this report.
One consensus-building event steered the PTPR process. The meeting was co-organised with the Ministry of Commerce with the contribution of UNCTAD and UNDESA. In total, 30 participants from the domestic private and public sectors and foreign delegations to Bangladesh contributed to enrich the discussion on three essential topics discussed in the review: regional integration as a driver of diversification; cushioning fragilities to develop a sustainable transformation; and fostering innovation for production transformation.
Two meetings with foreign delegations in Bangladesh contributed to and supported the analytical work. In particular, we thank the Ambassadors and Delegates of the following countries: Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Korea, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Türkiye, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
The participation in the seventh EU-Bangladesh Business Climate Dialogue hosted in June 2022. The dialogue hosted annually gathers the Heads of EU Diplomatic Mission to Dhaka together with representatives of the Bangladeshi Government as well as representatives of the EU and the country’s private sector.
Semi-structured interviews with more than 50 experts from business, government, academia, and think tanks in Bangladesh have been extremely relevant in shaping the report. We acknowledge the time and contributions of the following representatives of various stakeholders (in institutional alphabetical order): Bangladesh Computer Samity; Bangladesh Economic Zones Authority; Bangladesh Foreign Trade Institute; Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers & Exporters Association; Bangladesh Hi-Tech Park Authority; Bangladesh Investment Development Authority; Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers & Exporters Association; Bangladesh Trade & Tariff Commission, Ministry of Commerce; Bangladesh Association of Software and Information Services; Beximco Pharmaceuticals; Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association; BRAC; Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission; Building Initiative Leading Development; Centre for Policy Dialogue; Dhaka Chamber of Commerce & Industry; Domestic; Economic Relations Division; Fatullah Apparels; Finance Division, Ministry of Finance; Hatil Furniture; Infrastructure Development Company Limited; Indian Industries Chamber of Commerce and Industry Bangladesh; Incepta Pharmaceuticals; Information and Communication Technology Division, Ministry of Posts, Telecommunications and Information Technology; MB Knit Fashion Limited; Ministry of Industries; National Board of Revenue; Policy Research Institute; Prime Minister's Office; Rangpur Chamber of Commerce; Royal Danish Embassy; Square Pharmaceuticals Ltd.; Startup Bangladesh Ltd; the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry; Trade and Investment Facilitation Cell; University of Dhaka; Walton.
This PTPR also benefitted from engagement in multilateral fora. We are grateful to the Office of the High Representative for Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries, and Small Island Developing States (OHRLLS) for the discussions at the fifth United Nations Conference on the Least Developed Countries, LDC5, hosted by the Government of Qatar in Doha, 5–9 March 2023, and in particular to Susanna Wolf for her support. The LDC5 has been a key occasion to share and test the PTPR results and commend Bangladesh on its progress, while continuing to highlight the relevance of the PTPR tool for graduating LDCs and beyond, through its inclusion in i-GRAD as part of the Doha Program of Action. We are also grateful to Taufiquir Rhaman at the WTO for the invitation to share progress on the report with the WTO LDC Sub Committee in May 2023.
This report would not have been possible without the financial contribution of the General Directorate for International Partnership of the European Commission.