BMCCI president advocates for creating SEACO-FTA
Sunday, 7 December 2008
FE Report
Bangladesh-Malaysia Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BMCCI) President Salahuddin Kasem Khan has advocated for creating a South East Asian Cooperation-Free Trade Area (SEACO-FTA) to face global financial crisis and recession.
The BMCCI president proposed this in a farewell reception organised by the chamber in honour of outgoing Malaysian High Commissioner in Bangladesh Dato Abdul Malek bin Abdul Aziz at a city hotel recently, said a press release.
The president said that the time to focus on bilateral free trade agreement (FTA) between Bangladesh and Malaysia should be persued seriously -- to be subsequently enlarged with the inclusion of the other OIC countries in South and South East Asia -- Brunei, Indonesia and Maldives -- to create a sub-regional, SEACO-FTA of over 370 million consumers-nearly one third of the total Muslim population.
Free trade area is a designated group of countries that have agreed to eliminate tariffs, quotas and preferences on most (if not all) goods and services between them.
It can be considered the second stage of economic integration.
A free trade area is a result of a free trade agreement (a form of trade pact) between two or more countries. FTAs are cascadable to some degree - if some countries sign agreement to form free trade area and choose to negotiate together (either as a trade bloc or as a forum of individual members of their FTA) another free trade agreement with some external country (or countries) - then the new FTA will consist of the old FTA plus the new country (or countries).
The BMCCI president mentioned that the BMCCI believes that to achieve this objective it is imperative to accelerate a step by step OIC regional FTA's approach and for this region they are therefore strongly proposing the creation of the SEACO-FTA to be ultimately linked to the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC)-FTA and other FTA's in the Islamic World -- so that in the not too distant future they have a Global Islamic FTA-leading to the formation of an Islamic Common Market-which is the final economic objective of the OIC.
Countries like Bangladesh and Malaysia have to spearhead this process.
Besides the BMCCI members and Malaysian businessmen, the High Commissioner of Brunei Darussalam in Bangladesh also attended the function.
Bangladesh-Malaysia Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BMCCI) President Salahuddin Kasem Khan has advocated for creating a South East Asian Cooperation-Free Trade Area (SEACO-FTA) to face global financial crisis and recession.
The BMCCI president proposed this in a farewell reception organised by the chamber in honour of outgoing Malaysian High Commissioner in Bangladesh Dato Abdul Malek bin Abdul Aziz at a city hotel recently, said a press release.
The president said that the time to focus on bilateral free trade agreement (FTA) between Bangladesh and Malaysia should be persued seriously -- to be subsequently enlarged with the inclusion of the other OIC countries in South and South East Asia -- Brunei, Indonesia and Maldives -- to create a sub-regional, SEACO-FTA of over 370 million consumers-nearly one third of the total Muslim population.
Free trade area is a designated group of countries that have agreed to eliminate tariffs, quotas and preferences on most (if not all) goods and services between them.
It can be considered the second stage of economic integration.
A free trade area is a result of a free trade agreement (a form of trade pact) between two or more countries. FTAs are cascadable to some degree - if some countries sign agreement to form free trade area and choose to negotiate together (either as a trade bloc or as a forum of individual members of their FTA) another free trade agreement with some external country (or countries) - then the new FTA will consist of the old FTA plus the new country (or countries).
The BMCCI president mentioned that the BMCCI believes that to achieve this objective it is imperative to accelerate a step by step OIC regional FTA's approach and for this region they are therefore strongly proposing the creation of the SEACO-FTA to be ultimately linked to the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC)-FTA and other FTA's in the Islamic World -- so that in the not too distant future they have a Global Islamic FTA-leading to the formation of an Islamic Common Market-which is the final economic objective of the OIC.
Countries like Bangladesh and Malaysia have to spearhead this process.
Besides the BMCCI members and Malaysian businessmen, the High Commissioner of Brunei Darussalam in Bangladesh also attended the function.