State Minister for Commerce Ahsanul Islam Titu said on Wednesday that agreements will be signed with Myanmar and India to import essential commodities.
Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB) will sign the agreements, he said at Bangladesh Secretariat Reporters Forums (BSRF) Dialogue held at the Secretariats Media Centre.
"We may also bring agricultural products from Myanmar, which they have in surplus. We have almost finalised an agreement on this. We will try to sign the agreement in July," the state minister said.
He said, "We can bring daily necessities including onions and pulses from Myanmar. The agreement will be signed with the Myanmar in accordance with an agreement with the United Nations. The only target of the agreement is to give some relief to common people." He said, "Earlier the imports were made only through seaports, now many land ports have been opened for the imports. Along with the land port, we have given importance to border haats."
"Both the governments are interested in border haats. As per the Prime Ministers directive, we will quickly establish border haats in inaccessible border areas. It will make our import-export trade much easier," he added.
He said, "Many people may not know, it was not given much importance before, we have commercial councilors in 23 countries. We made them to accountable."
"They report to the Additional Secretary every month. We are also strengthening our activities there. We can access new markets and new products," he added. BSRF President Fasih Uddin Mahtab presided over the dialogue moderated by its General Secretary Masudul Haque.