Bilateral relations
The cooperation between Finland and Bangladesh was launched with bilateral development cooperation in 1975, with Finland focusing on development credit and developing Bangladesh’s infrastructure, among other things. The relations of the two countries have since diversified and expanded from simple bilateral development cooperation.
Other nascent cooperation initiatives have been launched in the fields of education and peacekeeping, for example. Bangladesh is a strong proponent of sustainable development goals, and the UN Agenda2030 sets a natural framework for cooperation between Finland and Bangladesh. The countries’ foreign ministries regularly hold annual consultations on current global and bilateral questions. In recent years, Finland has supported the development cooperation projects of Finnish NGOs in Bangladesh, for example in the education and health care sectors.
The EU is a key trade and development partner to Bangladesh through the Everything But Arms arrangement (EBA), which grants the least developed countries customs-free access to the EU market. The EBA has had a significant impact on the development of Bangladesh’s economy and has promoted reform in areas such as occupational health and safety legislation.
One of the most prominent humanitarian questions related to Bangladesh involves the Rohingya refugees who fled persecution in Myanmar in 2017, more than a million of whom now live in refugee camps maintained by Bangladesh. The country has received widespread acclaim for shouldering this global responsibility. Finland supports the camps from its humanitarian aid budget.
Trade and economic relations
Trade between Bangladesh and Finland is fairly quiet for the time being, but the countries’ trade and economic relations have growing potential. Finnish companies operating in Bangladesh focus on power plants, port and ship equipment, lifts and telecommunication networks. Bangladesh mostly exports ready-to-wear clothing and footwear to Finland. Finnish engineering has left a strong imprint on Bangladesh’s energy sector, as more than a quarter of the country’s energy production capacity was built by Wärtsilä. In addition, Cargotec and Konecranes have a strong position in marine and industrial lifting equipment, and a few Finnish SMEs have also successfully entered this rapidly growing market in Bangladesh.
The Bangladeshi construction industry, in which Finland is currently only represented by KONE, offers opportunities to other Finnish companies as well. The telecommunications and digital sectors are also growing rapidly in Bangladesh. Finnish digital application providers are gaining a foothold in the country alongside Nokia, which has an established presence in Bangladesh. Demand for Finnish expert services in addition to hardware and software solutions is projected to grow in the Bangladeshi health care sector.