B\'desh-Myanmar commerce secy level meeting begins Wednesday

A two-day commerce secretary level meeting between Bangladesh and Myanmar will begin from Wednesday in the capital where the signing of preferential trading arrangement and settlement of trade disputes will prominently come up for discussion, officials said.
Reviewing the implementation status of the 7th JTC meeting, cooperation in exchange of trade figures and prevention of smuggling of goods and establishment of Kanyinchaung Trade Zone will dominate the agenda in the meeting.
The two sides will also review issues on trade, banking, tariff and progress in coastal shipping agreement.
"We will discuss different trade-related issues and measures for promoting trade between Bangladesh and Myanmar," senior secretary of the ministry of commerce (MoC) Hedayetullah Al Mamoon told the FE.
The coastal shipping line between Bangladesh and Myanmar was supposed to be launched much earlier, but this was not possible because of political tension in the bordering areas in recent years.
A coastal shipping line will help Bangladesh send readymade garment items to Myanmar, according to business circles.
Now Myanmar's customers buy garment items made in Bangladesh from Thailand.
Myanmar is rich in wood. Once the coastal shipping line is in place, Bangladesh can import it from that country to meet the demand for the local furniture sector.
Bangladesh will also discuss other topics like banking transactions as Myanmar's commercial banks have already opened the Asian Clearing Union (ACU) accounts with correspondent banks from the Bangladesh side, according to a report of the seventh joint trade commission meeting held in Myanmar in 2014.
The two countries will seek cooperation in the areas of oil, gas and mineral resources.
Bangladesh will also discuss import of hydroelectric power and pulses, food grains, timber and other items from Myanmar, while the southeast Asian nation has demanded tax reduction on its exports of betel nus, dried and salted fish as it has a lot of stock of those goods for exports, according to the report.
A joint statement will be issued by the two sides on November 10 regarding the outcome of the meeting, according to commerce ministry officials.   
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