Bangladesh, Oct. 14 -- Bangladesh has sought the Netherlands' support in advancing a proposed free trade agreement (FTA) with the European Union (EU) and securing continued preferential market access after the country graduates from the least developed country (LDC) category.

Commerce Minister Khondokar Abdul Muktadir made the request during a bilateral meeting with visiting Dutch Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation Sjoerd Sjoerdsma at the commerce ministry in Dhaka on Tuesday.

Muktadir stressed the need for institutional and policy support, technical discussions on the proposed Bangladesh-EU FTA and the removal of non-tariff barriers to safeguard Bangladesh's export competitiveness in the European market after LDC g...