Bangladesh Thursday urged India to reduce huge trade deficit of nearly $2.0 billion by way of allowing greater access of Bangladeshi products to the Indian market, reports UNB from New Delhi.
The two countries opened talks on wide agenda, ranging from trade to cross-border connectivity.
Foreign Secretary Touhid Hossain is leading the Bangladesh delegation while Indian External Affairs Secretary Shivshankar Menon is leading the host side at the 2-day talks, which stirred musings in Dhaka over possible Indian proposal for land transit.
Dhaka also called for expediting work to reach agreement on the sharing of the water of the common rivers, particularly the Teesta, at the Foreign Office Consultations between the two countries that began in Delhi Thursday morning.
The two foreign secretaries had extensive discussions on the present state of bilateral relations and on concrete ways in which these relationships could be further enhanced within a broader framework of cooperation in areas of common concern and shared interest.
Touhid emphasised creating conditions for increasing two-way trade with particular emphasis on bridging the existing trade gap between the two next-door neighbors. Current trade deficit against Bangladesh is over $1.9 billion.
He requested for greater access of Bangladeshi exports to Indian market and for expediting the completion of export of the remaining of 0.5 million tonnes of rice to Bangladesh. He also requested his counterpart to consider complete withdrawal of restrictions on export of rice from India.
The talks focused on making tangible progress on water-related issues. The two foreign secretaries agreed on the need for convening meeting of the relevant technical committees to carry on their respective work.
It was agreed that both the countries would need to work closely to counter the threats posed by terrorism and other illegal cross-border activities like smuggling of fake currencies, narcotics, drugs and arms.
Both the delegations expressed satisfaction about the working of the existing functional mechanisms while expressing the hope that they would remain engaged and continue to have dialogue and discussions on various issues to address specific concerns.
The issue of connectivity came up for discussion. Both the foreign secretaries welcomed the commencement of Dhaka-Kolkata Maitree Express train service, and appreciated the need for reducing the waiting time of passengers on the borders.
The discussions on connectivity also focused on better utilisation of the Protocol on Inland Water Transit and Trade, improvement of border infrastructure to facilitate trade, and the need for approaching specific issues through relevant forums.
Touhid invited his Indian counterpart to visit Bangladesh for the next FOC at a convenient time.
He paid courtesy calls on Indian External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee and Indian State Minister for Commerce and Power Jairam Ramesh.
