Bangladesh provides huge business opportunties in different sectors and Indian companies should explore areas of investments, Bangladesh Commerce Minister Tipu Munshi said on Tuesday.
Photograph: Amit Dave/Reuters
He said that government policies in Bangladesh are in favour of businesses.
“Please do come and invest in Bangladesh,” Munshi said in New Delhi while addressing businesses of both the countries.
The minister is in Idia as part of a delegation with visiting Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
“My suggestion to business people is to come to Bangladesh and see it… We have the scope of exports…We should work together, there is a lot of scope,” he said.
The bilateral trade between the countries has jumped to $18.2 billion in 2021-22 as compared to $10.8 billion in 2020-21.
Trade balance is highly tilted in favour of India.
India’s main exports include cotton, fuel, auto components and machinery.
While imports include apparel and textiles.
When asked about the proposed free trade agreement between the two countries, Salman F Rahman, MP, Private Industry and Investment Adviser to the Prime Minister of Bangladesh, said that in-principle both the sides have agreed to negotiate the trade pact.
“You have to do scoping, do a lot of preliminary work before proper negotiations starts,” Rahman said.
After bilateral talks with the visiting Bangladesh prime minister, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said India and Bangladesh will soon start discussion on the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA).
Briefing on the visit, foreign secretary Vinay Kwatra said the CEPA agreement is expected to be reached before Bangladesh graduates from the category of least developed countries by 2026 and moves to the ranks of developing countries.
In a trade agreement, two countries either significantly reduce or eliminate customs duties on the maximum number of goods traded between them. India already provides duty free access to several Bangladeshi goods.
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