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Our Bureau

New Delhi , March 25

INDIA and Bangladesh have agreed on a common text on the revised trade agreement, which was hanging fire for almost a year and the revised agreement would be signed at a high-level at a mutually convenient date.

This emerged at the second meeting of the India-Bangladesh Joint Working Group on Trade, which was held here on March 23-24. Both sides agreed to continue their discussions on the possibility of a bilateral free trade area (FTA) between India and Bangladesh.

The recent signing of the SAFTA by all SAARC countries and BIMSTEC (a regional grouping involving Bangladesh, India, Myanmar, Sri Lanka and Thailand) by India was also noted by both the sides.

Both sides also agreed on a time-bound programme to recognise each other's testing labs for commodities such as food products, agro products, textiles and leather. The Indian side was led by Mr S. Ramasundaram, Joint Secretary, Department of Commerce, Government of India and the Bangladesh side by Mr Elias Ahmed, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Commerce, Government of Bangladesh.

Referring to the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) certification of Bangladesh products, which came up in the last meeting with specific reference to Bangladesh cement exports to India, the meeting took stock of the situation.

BIS is in the process of inspecting the Bangladesh Cement Plant in mid-April 2004. At this time, the Indian High Commission would arrange a round-table meeting with potential Bangladesh applicants of products in the mandatory-certification list of 109 products notified by BIS, to clarify their doubts on the spot. Both sides noted with satisfaction the resolution of the long-pending Sun Pharma issue by the Bangladesh Health Ministry.

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