Cabinet may okay renewal of BD-India trade deal today

The cabinet is likely to approve renewal of bilateral trade agreement with India today (Monday), said Commerce Minister Tofail Ahmed on Sunday.
The trade agreement between India and Bangladesh would be renewed for five years instead of three years as was done earlier. It would be renewed automatically after every five years.
The renewal of the agreement will be effective from April 1, 2015, said the commerce minister while talking to a group of journalists at his Secretariat office.
The timeframe of the trade agreement between the two neighbouring countries expired on March 31, 2015. The agreement is likely to be signed when Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Bangladesh.
Under the existing agreement, both Bangladesh and India can use their waterways, roadways and railways for transporting goods within their territories.
 But inclusion of a third country under the new provision will open up possibilities for Nepal and Bhutan to use Bangladesh's ports and carry goods back through the Indian territories.
Earlier, New Delhi had requested Dhaka to make the trade agreement permanent instead of periodic time extension. But most of the stakeholders both from government and private bodies expressed their unwillingness to go for permanent agreement, sources in foreign and shipping ministries told this correspondent.
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