Dhaka-Doha mulls coop accord

Bangladesh and Qatar have initiated a move to sign an agreement on Economic, Commercial and Technical Cooperation with a view to further promote and encourage bilateral economic, commercial and technical cooperation. The first round negotiation on the draft agreement between Bangladesh and Qatar is likely to be held in the 3rd week of April or the 1st week of May this year in Qatari capital Doha. The Bangladesh delegation will be headed by a senior official from the Economic Relations Division (ERD) and comprise representatives from the National Board of Revenue (NBR), Ministry of Commerce, Ministry of Industries, Bangladesh Bank, and the Board of Investment (BoI). The official said that the concerned authorities of Qatar earlier informed the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Bangladesh that they want to hold the 1st round negotiations in March this year, but for completion of some necessary arrangements, now the meet will be held either in the 3rd week of April or 1st week of May, according to UNB.