India to give duty-free access to Bangladeshi goods by Dec '07

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The foreign secretary-level talks between Bangladesh and India ended Tuesday agreeing to quickly resolve the problems concerning the demarcation of 6.5 km land boundary and sharing of waters of the common rivers, report agencies.
Dhaka and New Delhi also agreed to work together to deal with terrorists, criminals and insurgents in the common interest of peace and security.
The Indian side agreed to provide duty-free access to products of least developed countries (LDCs), including Bangladesh, in phases by December 31 this year as announced by Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh at the 14th SAARC summit in New Delhi.
The two sides signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to facilitate technical cooperation in the fields of standardisation, certification, testing, measurement and quality assurance system. It was agreed that the Joint Working Group on Trade would be convened soon.
Indian Foreign Secretary Shivshankar Menon and Bangladesh Foreign Secretary Touhid Hossain led their respective sides to the 2-day Foreign Office Consultations.
The two sides expressed their commitment to facilitating the early resolution relating to completion of demarcation of 6.5 kms of land boundary, exchange of enclaves and the adverse possession of lands.
Asked whether legal or mental barrier holds the two sides apart in implementing the 1974 Land Boundary Agreement, the Indian foreign secretary said there is not anything that holds them apart but they are trying to find a solution that suits both sides and the ground reality. "We like to solve this problem as quickly as possible," he told reporters at a press conference.
On sharing of common river waters, the two sides agreed to hold a Joint Committee of Experts, headed by Water Resources Secretaries, to be followed by the meeting of the JRC at the earliest.
On bilateral trade, the two sides discussed issues relating to tariff and non-tariff barriers, coordinated development of land customs stations, curtailing the list of sensitive products, water management, establishment of border hats and facilitation of investment.
The issues of tackling terrorism and strategies to control narcotics smuggling and trafficking in women and children also came up for discussion.
Asked if duty-free access to Bangladeshi products would help reduce the trade imbalance of over $ 4.0 billion, the Bangladesh foreign secretary said the trade imbalance cannot be removed overnight but the tariff concession would certainly help in this regard.
A foreign ministry official preferring anonymity said India put 744 Bangladeshi goods on its sensitive products' list while Bangladesh listed 1,200 Indian products as sensitive. Representatives from both the countries discussed on how to curtail the list.
The meeting also underlined the need to improve rail, road, river and air connectivity between the two next-door neighbours.
Before the starting of Dhaka-Kolkata train service, an Indian railway team will visit Dhaka next month to discuss the details of the operational modalities.
On security issues, the meeting stressed enhancing security cooperation, particularly information sharing, between the authorities concerned. They reiterated their commitment not to allow their territories to be used in any way for activities inimical to the other.
Asked why India points its finger at her neighbours despite the fact that anti-Indian insurgents originate from Indian states, including Assam and Tripura, Menon said it is the common interest of both India and Bangladesh to jointly deal with terrorists, criminals and insurgents because it would neither help India nor Bangladesh.
The meeting decided to hold the meeting of the Home Secretaries at a mutually convenient date.
Asked about India's position on current situation under the caretaker government, Menon said it is an internal matter of Bangladesh and it is up to Bangladeshis to decide their future.
However, he said India, as Bangladesh's friend, always wants to see a peaceful, stable and democratic Bangladesh.