Closing ranks long after their separation through Bangladesh's independence from Pakistan, the two countries are set to form a high-powered Joint Working Group (JWG) for expanding bilateral trade and cooperation.
Sources say the Pakistan government has already sent a draft memorandum of understanding (MoU) to the Bangladesh government for first such engagement.
The commerce ministries of Bangladesh and Pakistan will execute the activities related to the proposed JWG launch.
Bangladesh's commerce ministry has already sent the MoU to different ministries and agencies concerned, including foreign, commerce, industries, and agriculture ministries, the National Board of Revenue (NBR), Economic Relations Division (ERD), Bangladesh Investment Development Authority (BIDA), Bangladesh Trade and Tariff Commission (BTTC), for their urgent opinions regarding the two-nation cooperation body.
"The two countries agree to set up the JWG on trade under the proposed MoU with the objective of promoting and fostering greater cooperation in trade on the basis of equality and mutual benefit," a document mentions.
Contacted about the development, a senior commerce official said, "We are working on forming a JWG between Bangladesh and the neighbouring country. For the first time after the independence, two nations are going to constitute such group on trade and mutual cooperation."
According to the MoU, the JWG will have the scope of work in areas such as trade-promotion activities, exchange of information on trade, promotion of small and medium enterprises, standardization, technical regulation, and conformity-assessment procedure, consideration and negotiations of bilateral trade agreements and any other areas to be mutually agreed upon by the parties during the meetings of the JWG.
The group will be chaired jointly by the ministers of commerce of the two countries and will meet annually alternately in each country "at such time as shall be agreed by the Parties, unless otherwise agreed by the Parties".
Its functions also include identifying and implementing measures to enhance bilateral-trade relations, addressing trade issues affecting the parties, assisting the private sectors of the parties to establish trade and business ventures and recommending to the parties the necessary measures aimed at the expansion and diversification of tow-way trade.
Experts say trade and business will increase between the two Muslim states as there has been huge potential if the group is signed. "Besides, many untapped areas will open up and be addressed."
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