Dhaka has requested prompt approval from Delhi for the proposed import quota of essential commodities.
Bangladesh's Commerce Minister Tipu Munshi on Friday urged Indian Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal for support in a sidelines bilateral meeting.
The meeting took place prior to the scheduled commerce and investment ministers' meeting of the G20 in Joypur, India.
During the meeting, Tipu Munshi extended gratitude to his Indian counterpart for outlining a process for providing the quotas. He also called for support in securing approval for essential imports from the neighbouring country.
A statement by the commerce ministry issued on Friday detailed the exchange.
Mr Munshi drew attention to the recent imposition of a 40 per cent export tax on onions by the Indian government. He said this imposition has adversely impacted onion prices in Bangladesh.
In response, Piyush Goyal acknowledged India's commitment to collaborating with Bangladesh to address challenges stemming from disruptions in global production, supply shortages and rising prices of essential commodities.
Goyal said that India, too, is grappling with agricultural production deficits due to adverse weather conditions and food inflation, necessitating certain policy decisions.
He assured Bangladesh that the current crisis will be overcome shortly.
During the sideline meeting, Tipu Munshi specifically requested the Indian government to repeal the anti-dumping duty on jute goods.
The Indian commerce minister assured Munshi that the matter would be given priority consideration.
Later, a separate bilateral meeting took place between the commerce ministers of Bangladesh and Saudi Arabia.
Before the bilateral meetings, Commerce Minister Tipu Munshi participated in the meeting of commerce ministers of the G20, which took place on August 24-25 in Joypur, India.
During this meeting, the commerce minister of Bangladesh advocated for a continuous duty-free and quota-free facility for countries that are on track to graduate from the Least Developed Countries (LDC) category in 2026.
Besides, he made a request to the commerce ministers of G20 nations to make favourable decisions for countries post-graduation at the 13th World Trade Organization (WTO) Ministerial Conference (MC13).
The statement mentioned that Mr Munshi also took part in the Business-20 summit held in New Delhi.
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