The UK (UK) and Bangladesh signed the Aviation Trade and Investment Partnership agreement, because the Asian country looks to develop its aviation industry.
“This deal demonstrates the UK’s commitment to strengthening Bangladesh’s aviation industry, in turn helping to create jobs in each countries,” said Dominic Johnson, the Minister of State on the UK Department of Business and Trade (DBT), in a brief statement on Twitter.
Meanwhile, in keeping with Salman Rahman, the Private Industry and Investment Adviser to Bangladesh’s Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, the agreement also included provisions for the country to purchase passenger and cargo aircraft from Airbus.
“Bangladesh may get long-term credit facilities from UK Export Finance scheme on easy terms for the acquisition of aircraft from Airbus,” also read a press release from the Bangladesh High Commission within the UK.
It was not immediately clear what number of aircraft the country is trying to order for its national flag carrier, namely Biman Bangladesh Airlines. Currently, the airline has 21 aircraft in its fleet, 20 of that are lively, while a single Boeing 737-800 is stored, in keeping with ch-aviation.com data.
Previous reports by the Dhaka Tribune put the variety of ordered aircraft at 10, namely eight passenger and two cargo jets, without specifying the models. It is anticipated that Airbus and Biman Bangladesh Airlines will sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in the approaching days, as Bangladeshi PM Hasina is currently on a visit to the UK, with the politician set to depart the country in a while May 8, 2023, on the time of writing.
Biman Bangladesh Airlines’ other jet aircraft include five Boeing 737-800, 4 777-300ER, 4 787-8, and two 787-9, in addition to a regional fleet of 5 De Havilland Canada DHC-8 Q400 aircraft.
