Saida Muna Tasneem, Bangadesh High Commissioner to the UK has sought post-COVID-19 extension of UK's Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) facility to Bangladeshi products until 2030 to boost trade and greater support to low-carbon climate-resilient development strategies for a faster post-pandemic SDGs recovery. Tasneem applauded Bangladesh for its brilliant deliverance on its pre-COVID SDGs performances as witnessed last month during its 2nd Voluntary National Review at the UNHLPF on SDGs in New York, exceeding many SDG targets ahead of the slotted 2020 and 2025 deadlines.

These include SDG 1 and 10 on reducing poverty and inequality and enhancing economic growth, SDG 2 on achieving food security, SDG 3 on good health and well-being, SDG 4 on quality education, SDG 5 on gender parity, SDG 6 on clean drinking water and sanitation, SDG 13 building climate resilience and many more.

The high commissioner also apprised the APPG about Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s focus on climate financing for delivering on Bangladesh's NDCs, reducing extreme climate disaster vulnerabilities and building back a climate-resilient post-COVID future for Bangladesh and other CVF members, including implementation of the Bangladesh Delta Plan (BDP) 2100 and working closely with the UK Presidency of the COP26.

Highlighting Bangladesh's post-COVID SDGs and economic recovery challenges, Tasneem said, in post-COVID, Bangladesh's apparel sector export earnings suffered unprecedented cancellations and non-payments by the UK and other global retailers and need early recovery along with recovery of crops and infrastructural losses of more than $6 billion caused by extreme climatic disasters like the recent cyclone Amphan and monsoon flooding making millions homeless and slide back to poverty.