The leaders of Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MCCI) on Monday called upon the government of India to focus on some specific issues for further improvement of bilateral trade and commerce between the two countries. There are still many untapped opportunities that can be exploited for greater mutual benefits for Bangladesh and India, they added. Welcoming delegation of Indian High Commission to the chamber in the capital, the President of the MCCI, Major General (Retd) Amjad Khan Chowdhury put some recommendations to the government of India through its High Commissioner in Dhaka, Mr Rajeet Mitter. "Bangladesh recognises India as the most important neighbour and trading partner. The Prime Minister of Bangladesh Sheikh Hasina and her Indian counterpart Manmohan Singh issued a joint statement in January 2010 calling for increased cooperation in trade," the MCCI President noted at the meeting of business leaders to discuss the important issues of bilateral trade, commerce and investment between India and Bangladesh. He said that following the highest government-level joint statement, there have been additional directions from both Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and its Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee for making liberal trade offers by India to Bangladesh, keeping the sensitive nature of concerns on non-tariff barriers into consideration. "The positive expressions of political will have already yielded benefits in bilateral trade and commerce. We have found that outcome of the very recent visit of Mr Shawrma, the Commerce and Industries Minister of India, to Bangladesh and that has already taken a tangible shape in certain areas," he said. The Indian government's market-access facility for Bangladesh's readymade garment (RMG) items rose from 8.0 million to 10.0 million pieces that will enjoy duty-free and quota-free (DFQF) market access in the near future, he added. The MCCI President focused on some specific issues of concern to the delegation of the Indian High Commission. The issues relate to reduction of trade deficit, trade agreements, economic cooperation, non-tariff barriers, para-tariff barriers and employability of Bangladeshi nationals in India. With regard to the reduction of trade deficit, he said, "Bangladeshi exports to India during 2009-10 were worth US $350 million against imports of $3215 million which were 15 per cent of Bangladesh total import, leaving a huge trade imbalance of $2910 million. Bangladesh's exports to India stood at $359 million during July-March period of the current fiscal year, 2010-11, while imports from India amounted to $2058 million in the last six months". He said that such a huge trade imbalance between the two countries can effectively be reduced through cordial, productive and mutual cooperation. Apart from South Asia Preferential Trade Arrangement (SAPTA), both Bangladesh and India are also signatories to Asia Pacific Trade Agreement (APTA), SAARC and BIMSTEC agreements under which we enjoy duty-free market access to each other's country, Amjad Khan observed. He said India has a more sustainable and dependable trade regime with Bhutan, Nepal and Sri Lanka than that of Bangladesh under bilateral trade agreements. The MCCI supports the idea of bilateral free trade agreement (FTA) between the two countries for promotion of trade, he added. He said a new era has opened up to forge strong economic cooperation in trade and investment, transport and transit and development between the two countries. "The MCCI appreciates the decision of the Indian Government in favour of paying transit fees to carry Indian goods using transit facilities through Bangladesh. We are convinced that Bangladesh can obtain financial benefit by greater economic integration with the north eastern states (NES) of India. Bangladeshi business community intends to take advantage of investing in north eastern regions of India, especially the seven sister states," he mentioned. The President of the MCCI said that a number of non-tariff barriers (NTBs) have been removed in the recent days, but many still remain and are seriously hindering Bangladesh's exports to India. The head of the MCCI took a positive note of the action by the Indian National Accreditation Board for Calibration and Testing Laboratories (NABL) for according accreditation very recently to chemical and biological laboratories of Bangladesh Standards and Testing Institution (BSTI), resulting in about 10 products under BSTI certification gaining accreditation. He said para-tariff barriers remain an obstacle for Bangladesh's exports to India. "We urge upon the Indian authorities and business community at the federal, state and local levels to remove 18 per cent para-tariff from garment items and cement from Bangladesh," he said. The MCCI President also highlighted the need for ensuring employability of more Bangladeshi nationals in India. "A large number of Indian nationals, mostly technical experts and management professionals, are employed in Bangladesh through a simple process of issuing work permits. Unfortunately, this is not reciprocated for Bangladeshi nationals in India. Bangladeshi citizens, even if they are employed by multinational companies and stationed in India, find it very difficult to obtain a work permit in India. This situation should be rectified," he said He suggested simplification for obtaining the Indian visa by Bangladeshi businessmen.
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