Business Desk :
Experts on Sunday hailed the signing of maiden bilateral Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA) with Bhutan, saying it would help further explore the potentials of bilateral trade.
Bangladesh on Sunday entered into an era of duty-free bilateral trade through signing its maiden Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA) with Bhutan which is expected to boost trade between the neighbouring countries. Talking to BSS, country’s eminent economist and former Bangladesh Bank governor Dr Salehuddin Ahmed said the signing of the first ever PTA is a good sign for the country’s economy.
He suggested the government to ink more PTAs and Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) with economically large countries for accelerating Bangladesh’s economy.
“Bhutan is a small country. We will have to sign more PTAs with economically large countries, including Malaysia and Indonesia,” he added.
The former central bank governor also urged the government to go to the regional blocks, like ASEAN, for increasing its negotiation capacity in this regard, reports BSS.
Talking to the national news agency, Dhaka Chamber of Commerce & Industry (DCCI) President Shams Mahmud said the signing of PTA with Bhutan would help explore further the potentials of the country’s real estate, ICT and light engineering sectors.
“Based on this PTA, we’ll have to make analysis and thus strike more PTAs and FTAs with countries like Nepal, Malaysia and Indonesia,” Shams said, adding that those should be formulated and done in a scientific way.
Citing an example, he said if Bangladesh could penetrate the Australian and Latin American markets with products like readymade garments (RMG) by striking such trade deals, then those particular products would have a round the year market.
Mentioning that Vietnam has already signed FTA with the EU, the DCCI President opined that signing of PTAs and FTAs is very much important for a country like Bangladesh for successful LDC graduation, adding, “From now on, we’ll have to sign more PTAs and FTAs.”
International Business Forum of Bangladesh (IBFB) President Humayun Rashid welcomed the signing of PTA with Bhutan, terming it as a ‘milestone’ of the present government.
He said it would further boost the trade and commerce between the two neighboring nations.
“Bangladesh has signed its first ever PTA with Bhutan. The PTA which both sides will accelerate the economic activities between the two countries,” he said.
Experts on Sunday hailed the signing of maiden bilateral Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA) with Bhutan, saying it would help further explore the potentials of bilateral trade.
Bangladesh on Sunday entered into an era of duty-free bilateral trade through signing its maiden Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA) with Bhutan which is expected to boost trade between the neighbouring countries. Talking to BSS, country’s eminent economist and former Bangladesh Bank governor Dr Salehuddin Ahmed said the signing of the first ever PTA is a good sign for the country’s economy.
He suggested the government to ink more PTAs and Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) with economically large countries for accelerating Bangladesh’s economy.
“Bhutan is a small country. We will have to sign more PTAs with economically large countries, including Malaysia and Indonesia,” he added.
The former central bank governor also urged the government to go to the regional blocks, like ASEAN, for increasing its negotiation capacity in this regard, reports BSS.
Talking to the national news agency, Dhaka Chamber of Commerce & Industry (DCCI) President Shams Mahmud said the signing of PTA with Bhutan would help explore further the potentials of the country’s real estate, ICT and light engineering sectors.
“Based on this PTA, we’ll have to make analysis and thus strike more PTAs and FTAs with countries like Nepal, Malaysia and Indonesia,” Shams said, adding that those should be formulated and done in a scientific way.
Citing an example, he said if Bangladesh could penetrate the Australian and Latin American markets with products like readymade garments (RMG) by striking such trade deals, then those particular products would have a round the year market.
Mentioning that Vietnam has already signed FTA with the EU, the DCCI President opined that signing of PTAs and FTAs is very much important for a country like Bangladesh for successful LDC graduation, adding, “From now on, we’ll have to sign more PTAs and FTAs.”
International Business Forum of Bangladesh (IBFB) President Humayun Rashid welcomed the signing of PTA with Bhutan, terming it as a ‘milestone’ of the present government.
He said it would further boost the trade and commerce between the two neighboring nations.
“Bangladesh has signed its first ever PTA with Bhutan. The PTA which both sides will accelerate the economic activities between the two countries,” he said.
