Bangladesh eyes stronger trade, investment ties with India

 
Bangladesh has stressed the need to expand business, trade and industrial cooperation with India by overcoming the recent diplomatic strains between the two neighbours.
Commerce Minister Khandaker Abdul Muktadir made the remarks at a meeting with a delegation from the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) at the Secretariat on Tuesday, according to a statement from the ministry.
The two sides discussed bilateral trade and investment, existing challenges and prospects for future cooperation.
Muktadir said restoring a normal trading environment, easing visa procedures and involving the private sector in building a long-term economic partnership were necessary to realise the two countries' economic potential.
Although Bangladesh and India differ in size, population and economic scale, their geographical realities offer significant scope for cooperation, he said, particularly in trade, connectivity and investment involving Bangladesh and India's northeastern states, according to bdnews24.com. 
He also said greater economic connectivity could create new opportunities for industrialisation, investment and employment, noting that intra-regional trade remains relatively low despite the size of South Asia's combined economy.
Referring to recent trade restrictions, the minister said discussions were needed to restore bilateral trade to normal levels and expressed hope for positive progress within the next few months.
Visa difficulties for businesspeople and professionals were also discussed. Muktadir said people who regularly travel for medical, business and other purposes should not have to apply for new visas every few months, calling for cooperation on longer-term visas.
The CII delegation, led by Director General Chandrajit Banerjee, proposed forming two joint taskforces �" one to promote private investment and public private partnerships in infrastructure, and another to boost cooperation in future industries such as semiconductors, green hydrogen, battery storage and data centres.
The delegation said India attracted about 2.5 trillion rupees in infrastructure investment last year, with a significant share coming from the private sector, and suggested Bangladesh could attract institutional investment by drawing on India's experience.
The meeting also highlighted the need to strengthen local manufacturing. CII representatives said capable local firms were being weakened by different problems and that increasing domestic production could reduce import dependence and speed up project implementation.
One representative cited EnergyPac, saying products that could be made locally are still imported, with land-port shipments sometimes taking 40-45 days.