Business Desk :
A Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA) between Bangladesh and Nepal is in the final stage, said the Commerce Secretary of Bangladesh Tapan Kanti Ghosh.
Being present as the chief guest, he made this remark on Tuesday at the business networking meeting between the Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DCCI) and the visiting business delegation from Confederation of Nepalese Industries (CNI), Nepal held at DCCI in the city. DCCI President Rizwan Rahman chaired the meeting. Meanwhile, a memorandum of cooperation (MoC) between DCCI and CNI was also signed during the meeting, said a press release. DCCI President Rizwan Rahman and President of CNI Vishnu Kumar Agarwal signed the document on behalf of their respective organisations.
He hoped that soon the PTA will be signed after getting the final nod from the Nepalese side. Bangladesh is a very big market of huge consumer base especially in the FMCG sector and Bangladesh has to import a large number of consumer items like edible oil, lentil, sugar, etc, he added. He urged Nepali businessmen to leverage this opportunity. He also termed that the memorandum of cooperation signed between DCCI and CNI is a milestone for both-way trade and commerce.
He expressed his hope, that this cooperation will boost bilateral trade and investment to a further level.
DCCI President Rizwan Rahman in his opening remarks said that both nations work on common interests at various international forums including SAARC, BIMSTEC, WTO that bolster our diplomatic and economic friendship. The bilateral trade is around $73.47 million in FY 2020-21 having a positive trade balance for Bangladesh, he added.
RMG, pharmaceuticals, agro-food processing, jute goods, ITES, light engineering, electronics have great investment and trade potentials as Nepal is one of the preferred investment destinations for Bangladesh, he said.
