A day-long seminar titled “EU Trade Forum: Spotlight on the Digital Product Passport” was recently held at the Pan Pacific Sonargaon Hotel in Dhaka to acquaint Bangladesh’s export-oriented industries with the European Union’s (EU) new Digital Product Passport (DPP) initiative.

Jointly organized by the Ministry of Commerce and the German development agency GIZ, the event aimed to foster a shared understanding of the DPP and assess Bangladesh’s preparedness to align its export sectors with the EU’s Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR).

Speaking as the chief guest, Mahbubur Rahman, Secretary of the Ministry of Commerce, said, “This type of technology-driven event has been organized in Bangladesh for the first time.” He emphasized the need to implement regulations like DPP without causing excessive cost increases for exporters.

The seminar was chaired by Additional Secretary Md. Abdur Rahim Khan. German Ambassador to Bangladesh Dr. Rüdiger Lotz highlighted that “DPP is an important tool for maintaining the traceability and transparency of a product.” Md. Anwar Hossain, Vice Chairman of the Export Promotion Bureau, noted, “We want to develop a data ecosystem for DPP that will remain under government ownership, benefiting exporters, factory owners, and other private sector entities.”

The event focused on the EU’s requirements for product traceability and the circular economy. Experts from sectors such as apparel, food, pharmaceuticals, and batteries shared their experiences and challenges in implementing DPP.

Organizers believe the seminar provided a vital platform for policymakers, industry leaders, and technology innovators to prepare Bangladesh’s export industries for the EU’s upcoming sustainability standards.

MN/