Maiden Ticfa meeting in April-end

The first meeting under the Trade and Investment Cooperation Forum Agreement (Ticfa) between Dhaka and Washington will be held in the last week of April next, said an official on Monday. “The meeting will be held in the last week of April as proposed by the US side,” Commerce Secretary Mahbub Ahmed told UNB. The maiden meeting of Ticfa was originally scheduled for April 7-8 but postponed as both sides did not find the schedule convenient due to other engagements. Both sides are now working to set specific dates for the two-day meeting through a mutual understanding as Dhaka prefers April 27-28 for holding the meeting, said another official at the commerce ministry. Meanwhile, the US is planning to create a ‘Ticfa Working Group on GSP/Labour Affairs’ to provide an ongoing, formal mechanism for Bangladesh and US to address labour concerns as it envisions Ticfa as the key coordinating mechanism for bilateral, government-to-government efforts on the GSP Action Plan.