Bangladesh and Singapore are moving to digitise cross-border trade through Singapore’s TradeTrust platform, with a joint working group to help local banks expand paperless trade transactions.
The decision came at a meeting on Wednesday between the Bangladesh Bank governor and Singapore’s newly appointed Chargé d’Affaires Philip Ong at the central bank’s headquarters in Dhaka, Bangladesh Bank said in a statement.
The central bank said the two sides discussed expanding bilateral trade, strengthening economic cooperation and issues related to a free trade agreement.
They also reviewed efforts to use TradeTrust in Bangladesh’s foreign trade. Singapore’s delegation welcomed interest from local banks following a Bangladesh Bank circular and the participation of several lenders.
The working group, comprising Bangladesh Bank and relevant Singapore authorities, will coordinate efforts to advance the use of TradeTrust in Bangladesh’s foreign trade and support wider participation by local banks.
The governor also called for exploring new areas of trade and economic cooperation and making bilateral commerce more balanced and diversified.
Singapore Ministry of Trade and Industry official Wong Choo Sin and Enterprise Singapore representative Benjamin Chue joined Ong at the meeting.
Bangladesh Bank Deputy Governors Md Habibur Rahman and Md Sarwar Hossain, Executive Director Md Harun Ar Rashid and Director Abu Saleh Mohammad Shahab Uddin were also present.
