Business Daily from THE HINDU group of publications
Monday, Jul 23, 2007
ePaper
Business Daily from THE HINDU group of publications Monday, Jul 23, 2007 ePaper |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Industry & Economy
-
Foreign Trade Government - Foreign Relations ‘Bangladesh, India must break cycle of mutual mistrust’
Our Bureau New Delhi, July 22 Bangladesh and India must break the cycle of mutual recrimination and put economic relationships on “fast forward” mode to make up for lost time and missed opportunities, said the Minister of State for Commerce, Mr Jairam Ramesh. Taking part in the inaugural function of India-Bangladesh Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Dhaka, the Minister said that both the countries have been making some progress over the past 15 months in their bilateral relations. He said the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) has signed a MoU with the Bangladesh Standards and Testing Institution for evolving a mutual recognition agreement. India was setting up testing facilities for hilsa fish at Petrapole and six laboratories in Bangladesh have been now recognised for the purpose of testing and certification in textiles and consumer products. He said in the first week of next month, a delegation from India would be in Dhaka to identify laboratories which could be accredited for testing in biscuits, cement and processed foods. Mr Ramesh said that as a sign of its commitment to deepening the Bangladesh-India economic partnership, India has offered to buy eight million numbers of garments every year from Bangladesh which are in India’s sensitive list. A MoU to give effect to these imports by India is now awaiting final nod by Bangladesh and once this is through, it would be an additional earning of $50-70 million every year for Bangladesh. With India resolving to advance the schedule for reducing import duties to zero for LDCs in South Asia from December 2008 to December 2007, almost 80 per cent of Bangladesh’s tariff lines would not attract any import duty by India beginning January 1, he said. Trade balance
On the growing adverse trade balance of Bangladesh with India, the Minister said investment remains the key to reducing Bangladesh’s trade deficit with India. India’s imports from Bangladesh could increase by at least $ 1 billion every year covering steel, urea and coal, if the $3-billion investment proposals by the Tatas in Bangladesh were through. A number of Indian companies were interested in investing in Bangladesh if the right signals were sent. He also pointed out that India’s blanket ban on FDI from Bangladesh made no sense and said “we have been reviewing these restrictions with a view to enabling FDI from Bangladesh into India on a case-to-case basis, subject to security clearance.” Mr Ramesh also asked the Bangladesh Government to consider the long-standing issue of granting of transit rights if it is keen on reducing the trade deficit with India quickly. This would also offer Bangladesh a huge market in northeast India where considerable two-way informal trade already occurs between the north-eastern States and Bangladesh. He said that India would also like to access the new mooring terminal at Chittagong Port, which would ensure the full utilisation of the container handling capacity created. Stating that the frequently-stated desire for closer economic cooperation between the two nations could be given a practical shape, Mr Ramesh noted that “if we can conclude an agreement on multi-modal transportation systems soon, including on container traffic, such joint projects could be facilitated.”
More Stories on : Foreign Trade | Foreign Relations
Article E-Mail :: Comment :: Syndication :: Printer Friendly Page
|
Stories in this Section |
|
The Hindu Group: Home | About Us | Copyright | Archives | Contacts | Subscription Group Sites: The Hindu | The Hindu ePaper | Business Line | Business Line ePaper | Sportstar | Frontline | The Hindu eBooks | The Hindu Images | Home |
Copyright © 2007, The
Hindu Business Line. Republication or redissemination of the contents of
this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of
The Hindu Business Line
|