Initiative to reopen Bangladesh-India land ports, border haats

Khandaker Abdul Muktadir, Commerce Minister, and Dinesh Trivedi, Indian High Commissioner, discussed various issues on expanding bilateral trade and removing business barriers at a meeting held at the Secretariat on Monday (August 24).

An initiative has been taken to reopen the closed border haats, make the land ports fully operational and withdraw the existing restriction on yarn import by land route to further dynamise commercial relations between Bangladesh and India. After the meeting, Md. Kamal Hossain, Senior Information Officer of the ministry, informed these details.

Khandaker Abdul Muktadir said there is currently about $13 billion in bilateral trade between Bangladesh and India. However, commercial activities have slowed somewhat over the past one and a half years due to various barriers. Discussions were held on identifying these problems and making the trade relations between the two countries easier and more effective.

He said India is Bangladesh’s second largest trading partner after China. The two countries have long-standing economic relations. Priority was given in the meeting to operating the land ports at full capacity, reopening the closed border haats and withdrawing the existing ban on yarn import by land route.

A proposal also came up in the meeting to form a joint task force to increase cooperation among businessmen of the two countries and develop digital infrastructure. Through these initiatives, efforts will be made to create new investment opportunities, expand business relations and bring dynamism to trade, the Commerce Minister said.

He expressed hope that with the initiative of the Indian High Commissioner, Bangladesh-India relations will become stronger in the coming days and economic cooperation will attain a new dimension.

Dinesh Trivedi, Indian High Commissioner, said that although there are some differences on political and economic issues between the two countries, common people want development and progress. Especially for the future of the young generation, the two countries must work together.

He said Bangladesh and India are two independent and sovereign countries. No one is big or small; both are equal. Relations must be advanced on the basis of this equality.

Dinesh Trivedi further said economic cooperation is the most important factor in developing relations between the two countries. If economic relations are strengthened, cooperation in other areas will also increase.

Emphasising joint investment and production, the Indian High Commissioner said Bangladesh’s ready-made garments sector is highly successful in the world market. India can cooperate by supplying zippers, machinery, buttons and other materials in this sector. This will further increase mutual interdependence between the two countries.

Praising the international success of Bangladesh’s ready-made garments, he said he feels proud seeing clothes marked ‘Made in Bangladesh’ in the international market. Through joint initiatives of the two countries, Bangladesh’s garment sector can advance on a larger scale.

It is expected that by increasing cooperation among businessmen of the two countries, creating new fields of investment and further strengthening the supply chain, Bangladesh-India commercial relations will expand further in future.