The Bangladesh Foreign Trade Institute (BFTI) is a non-profit research and training institution built on the concept of a public-private partnership. The European Commission is currently assisting the BFTI with start-up costs and technical assistance to set it up within a short-time as the premier foreign trade institute of the country. However, the medium term goal of the BFTI is to attain operational independence and financial self-sustainability. To this end it offers fee-based training courses, consulting and other services.