Sub-regional trade among agendas to be discussed

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FE Report
The government will review 10 key agendas at a meeting next week including exclusion of 61 items exportable to India from 'sensitive list', expediting road and railway communication with Nepal and Bhutan and scrutinising data on transshipment / transit tolls.
The meeting will be held at the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) on October 24, chaired by economic affairs adviser to the PM Mashiur Rahman.
Bangladesh has requested the Indian authorities to exclude 61 products from the sensitive list and allow duty-free export of the items, said a senior government official.
Most of the items are edible oil and textile products that are under the sensitive list and are subject to payment all duties, taxes to enter the Indian market, he said.
The government is also considering the infrastructure development of land customs stations as a priority for enhancing sub-regional trade, he said.
India has agreed to activate some land customs stations and develop infrastructure set-ups of Agartala, Akhaura and Bibir Bazar, he added.
The meeting will also discuss the existing transit and transshipment fees.
Two Indian vessels are now stuck up in Khulna and are awaiting the decision of the government high-ups on the fees.
Improvement of state-owned Bangladesh Standards and Testing Institution (BSTI) will be reviewed at the meeting with an aim to expediting formation of similar standard guidelines for the SAARC countries.
The BSTI is expected to get international accreditation by this year as it has improved its testing facilities recently, officials said.
At the meeting, the government will also discuss finalisation of the proposed infrastructure of land customs stations and recruitment of manpower to the shipping ministry and National Board of Revenue (NBR).