India, Bangladesh discuss preparations to start talks for free trade agreement

The bilateral trade has dipped to $14.2 billion in 2022-23, from $8.13 billion in 2021-22

Updated - October 01, 2023 05:20 pm IST - New Delhi

It was discussed during an official-level meeting of the Joint Working Group on Trade (JWG) between India and Bangladesh, which was held last week in Dhaka. File.

It was discussed during an official-level meeting of the Joint Working Group on Trade (JWG) between India and Bangladesh, which was held last week in Dhaka. File. | Photo Credit: AFP

India and Bangladesh have discussed preparations to start talks for a free trade agreement between the two countries to promote economic ties, an official statement said on October 1.

It was discussed during an official-level meeting of the Joint Working Group on Trade (JWG) between India and Bangladesh, which was held last week in Dhaka.

The meeting "discussed a host of bilateral issues such as removal of port restrictions, ground work on commencement of Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), harmonization of standards, and mutual recognition of standards, supply of essential commodities to Bangladesh," the Commerce Ministry said.

CEPA is a kind of free trade agreement, under which two trading partners significantly reduce or eliminate customs duties on the maximum number of goods traded between them. Besides, they also ease norms to promote trade in services and investments.

They also deliberated upon issues related to development of road and rail infrastructure, regional connectivity through multi-modal transportation and creation/ strengthening of infrastructure in Land Customs Stations/ Integrated Check Posts, border haats.

These meetings are held on an annual basis to discuss key trade related issues and explore opportunities for economic and technical collaboration, promotion, facilitation, expansion and diversification of trade between the two countries.

"These meetings play a vital role in quick resolution of bilateral issues by removing trade barriers, simplifying customs procedures, improvement of infrastructure, logistics, and transit facilities to facilitate smoother cross-border trade," it said.

The bilateral trade has dipped to $14.2 billion in 2022-23, from $8.13 billion in 2021-22.

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.