BD Businesses To Press India To Honour Pledge On Duty-Free Access.

The country's business leaders are set to urge an Indian delegation, which arrives today, to make good India's pledge on duty-free access of 61 Bangladeshi items to that country to help reduce Dhaka's huge trade deficit.

Indian commerce minister Anand Sharma will arrive in Dhaka today (Saturday) leading a 33-member delegation including a host of high-profile Indian businessmen on a two-day visit to Bangladesh to discuss bilateral trade relations between the two countries.

There are at least 487 items, on which the Indian authorities have imposed tariff, local business circles have said. From among the total, the Indian authorities, during Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's visit to Delhi, had agreed to remove duty from 61 items to help cut Bangladesh's big trade deficit with India.

"We will request both the Indian government and the business community to implement the Delhi declaration envisaged in 2010 between the two prime ministers and execution of the SAARC declaration in Nepal, especially the connectivity issue," AK Azad, president of Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI) told the FE Friday.

"We will also press the Indian authorities for allowing BSTI (Bangladesh Standards and Testing Institution) certified goods of all sorts in Indian market and joint investment initiatives between the entrepreneurs of both the neighboring countries," said Mr Azad.

Some other issues relating to cooperation in energy sector, transshipment and related issues between the two countries are expected to be discussed during the bilateral talks, he said.

Earlier, India promised to supply 250 MW electricity to Bangladesh under an agreement between the prime ministers of the two countries, he mentioned.

The country's business leaders will also urge both the governments to put in place an effective regional energy trade agreement.

The president of the India-Bangladesh Chamber of Commerce and Industry (IBCCI) said: "We will request the Indian authorities to implement the duty-free access of our 61 items to their country to facilitate passage of moreBangladeshi goods to reduce trade gap."

"We are expecting a declaration from the Indian side to this effect during the visit," IBCCI president Abdul Matlub Ahmad, who is also the chairman of Nitol-Niloy Group, told the FE.

Mr Ahmad said, "We will call upon our Indian counterpart to remove barriers to exporting Bangladeshi jute and jute goods and give Bangladesh 0.5 million tonnes of rice and wheat as pledged by India in August last year.

During Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's visit to India in January last year, she requested the Indian government either to increase the volume of quota or lift the quota system on exports of RMG products. The Indian government is yet to respond to the request.

In 2009-10, Bangladesh exports to India were worth US$ 305 million against an import of US$ 3215 million. Bangladesh export to India stood at US$ 219 million during the first six months of the current fiscal year, while import from India amounted to US$ 2058 million.

The IBCCI president said Bangladesh would again raise different tariff and non-tariff issues to the Indian minister during his talks withBangladeshi business leaders, so that the bilateral trade becomes smooth.

"We will request both the governments to devise a formula on how to legalise the transshipment earnings in favour of Bangladesh as Indian businessmen are ready to pay the charges for carrying their goods to northern Indian states via Bangladesh," he added.

Indian businessmen now have to travel a distance of about 2400km by road to carry goods to Tripura and the transport cost is about Tk 24000 per consignment, sources said. The distance can be reduced to 500km if they carry their goods via Bangladesh and the cost will be Tk 10,000 which will help Indian businessmen save Tk 14000.

The bilateral relations between India and Bangladesh appear to have lost warmth due to the slow or non-implementation of various agreements signed between the two countries over last one year. Observers expect the upcoming visit would help rejuvenate the 'apparently weakened' relations.

Mr Ahmad said two agreements were going to be signed during the visit of the Indian business delegates.

"Indian denim maker Arvind will sign an agreement on setting up of a denim factory at Comilla EPZ at a cost of US$ 70 million with Nitol-Niloy Group. Indian household appliance producing company Advent Enterprises Pvt Ltd will sign a marketing deal withBangladeshi Nilmoy Traders," he added.

The Indian delegation will include Rahul Khullar, commerce secretary, Arvind Mehta and Talin Kumar, joint secretaries (commerce ministry), RP Singh, joint secretary at the department of industrial promotion board, V Srinivas, joint secretary at textile ministry, IL Jha of Powergrid Corporation of India, Sada Kant, joint secretary at the home ministry, TS Tirumurty, joint secretary at the external affairs ministry and Sharad Gupta, director general of the external affairs ministry.

Source : thefinancialexpress-bd.com