Outgoing European Union ambassador to Bangladesh Pierre Mayaudon has expressed optimism that unlike the event in January, 2014, the next general election in Bangladesh will be free, fair, transparent and inclusive. In an exclusive interview yesterday with The Independent at his office prior to departure, he also said that as of now, the EBA (Everything But Arms) privilege that allow Bangladeshi products duty free quota free access to 28 countries of the EU bloc is ‘safe’.

“Having spoken to the prime minister, leaders of different political parties, representatives of the civil society and members of private sector, I got a sense of pragmatism that January, 2014 will not be repeated,” said the envoy.

The people concerned could realise the negative effects of that election, he said, adding that it can be hoped that the next election will be free, far, transparent and inclusive which will be a defining moment for the country.

Recalling horrible incidents during the ‘controversial’ 2014 poll, Mayaudon struck a note of optimism saying, “I hope good sense will prevail.”

Mayaudon also talked about EU assistance for the Election Commission including sending long term observation mission, uplifting the image of the country to attract more foreign direct investment (FDI), migration, EBA, GSP plus, labour rights, Bangladesh’s target of exporting products worth $50 billion and terrorism.

Describing the EU market as the largest export destination of Bangladeshi RMG products, he said that for the time being the EBA privilege is safe, but laid emphasis on the addressing of the issues within a specific timeframe that Bangladesh has pledged.

“Bangladesh has made good progress. But the government needs to amend the Bangladesh Labour Act and enact an EPZ (export processing zone) law,” he added.

The EU envoy reminded that according to the World Bank’s index of ease in doing business, Bangladesh is at 177 which is not ‘good’ and said that in order to attract more FDI this ranking should come down to double digit which

is ‘quite challenging’. On migration, he said that the recent ‘pressure’ on Bangladesh to bring back the ‘irregular Bangladeshis’ from the EU countries is not cruelty, rather it is an attempt to ‘save the lives of migrants who risk their lives to reach Europe from Libya.

Dhaka and Brussels are now closer than ever before to sign an SOP (standard operating procedure) in this regard, he added.

To a question, Mayaudon found Dhaka’s target of increasing the amount of export to $ 50 billion as ‘challenging’ and stressed the need for diversifying the export basket.

He also said that when Bangladesh will elevate to middle income country, it will have to apply for GSP plus which covers 90 per cent of the benefits enjoyed now under the EBA programme.

“Bangladesh will have to apply for that and in order to be accepted Bangladesh will need to sign and ratify 27 international conventions. There are also some other stringent measures Bangladesh will have to go through,” he said. On terrorism, the outgoing ambassador, whose next posting is in Afghanistan, commended the government’s efforts to fight it.

At the same time, he noted that law enforcement alone cannot solve the problem and placed great emphasis on education to find out the root causes. About his three-year tenure in Bangladesh, Mayaudon said that his time in Bangladesh was the most rewarding in his career.