Dr. Thomas Prinz is the Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany to the People’s Republic of Bangladesh. He has been working in this post in the German Embassy since April 2015. Ambassador Prinz was born on 7 June 1959 in Wetzlar, Germany, is married and has five children. He received his PhD from the University of Heidelberg, South Asia Institute.
Previously he worked as the Director of Foreign Trade Promotion at the Federal Foreign Office in Berlin from 2012 to 2015.
What is your evaluation of the multidimensional Germany-Bangladesh relationship?
Germany and Bangladesh have maintained a friendly relationship dating back to the earliest days of an independent Bangladesh. Wounded freedom fighters were treated in German hospitals; we are proud to have supported the Bangledeshi people from the beginning of their journey to independence. Today, there still is an active civil society interested in Bangladesh; for instance in my hometown, the NGO Netz has supported projects in Rangpur and other remote areas in northwestern Bangladesh throughout the last 27 years. Our lasting and cordial bilateral relations have adapted to the challenges and changes of time. Our current trade relations are as important as our development cooperation; numerically, they are of higher significance. Beside those economic relations, we are proud to have several thousand Bangladeshi university students pursuing their Master’s and PhD programs in Germany. All of this has led to a cooperative relationship in which we work together to combat climate change worldwide and matters in the United Nations.
The Bangladesh- Germany bilateral trade is worth over €4.6 billion where exports to Germany are worth €3.8 billion, and imports from Germany are worth €0.8 billion. 90% of those exports are RMG, so there is an opportunity to diversify, for example through light‐ engineering. What are your thoughts regarding this issue?
First of all, I am happy that Bangladesh is so successful with its RMG sector which is a change agent for its entire society. Millions of citizens are benefiting from that sector and with the export adding value to most of these people’s lives. The RMG sector has started a modernization process from which other sectors of the economy can profit now. The Government of Bangladesh is exploring the potentials of other sectors and I am convinced that these opportunities, which include the interest of foreign investors, are coming up in ITC, pharmaceuticals, leather, shipbuilding and a few other areas. The world economy is changing rapidly as a result of the IT revolution. New chances are rising for Bangladesh and for those who would invest here.
There is a significant amount of FDI coming in from Germany. How are you nurturing these trade opportunities?
As an embassy, we inform our government and the relevant business associations about recent developments and opportunities on a regular basis. For example, we have collected all relevant data about the ICT sector and sent it to Germany allowing for any possible investor to calculate their costs and possible benefits on the basis of that data. In addition, we are trying to bring in a delegation of potential investors for the ICT sector together with BGCCI and the German authorities involved. Apart from these short-term perspectives, we are trying to enhance the image of Bangladesh and its economic potentials abroad.
The German media does not extensively cover Asian countries. However, Bangladesh still predominantly makes headlines for natural disaster or tragedies. In this context, we are helping to create a more balanced picture; facilitating photo exhibition depicting the beauty of Bangladesh and its vibrant people. Furthermore, we are speaking to the German media and supporting direct contact of news between the nations.
“I AM HAPPY THAT BANGLADESH IS SO SUCCESSFUL WITH ITS RMG SECTOR WHICH IS A CHANGE AGENT FOR ITS ENTIRE SOCIETY.”
What is your opinion regarding the business environment in Bangladesh?
The country is full of opportunities, but it is difficult to conduct business in Bangladesh. The World Bank’s “Doing Business” index ranked Bangladesh on 174 out of 189 in 2016, two positions down from 2015; only Afghanistan and Syria are doing worse in Asia. Unfortunately, that shows that it is not getting easier to do business in Bangladesh. Bureaucracy is huge and difficult to understand. A culture of non-compliance, unpredictability of decision-making at the BOI, at customs and ministries hamper FDI. In 2015, the FDI in Bangladesh reached $1.8 billion, much less than Myanmar. With a better regulatory framework Bangladesh could increase FDI tremendously.
What is your evaluation of the hospitality and general mentality of the local people from your time here in Bangladesh?
The Bangladeshi people are just wonderful. Their attitude is the biggest asset of the country. That is not only my experience, but the experience of practically every foreigner I have conversed with. I have never before been as warmly welcomed as was the case in Dhaka. I have never before found such a warm-hearted society. This is true not only for my contacts and friends in Gulshan and Baridhara, but also for the remote villages on a chars in the Teesta river which I visited earlier this year.
