Indian External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj during her visit to Bangladesh scheduled for June 25 to 27 is expected to provide an opportunity to the leaders of the country's business community to hold discussions on some important issues.
India-Bangladesh Chamber of Commerce and Industry president and Nitol Group chairman Matlub Ahmed told The Financial Express Saturday night that they expected to raise the issue of transhipment through Bangladesh territory and unilateral investment of Indian businesses in Bangladesh without any local counterpart.
He said Bangladesh business community had always expected that the contract on transhipment of goods from the Indian states of Assam, Tripura, Meghalaya and such other places to the Chittagong Port and back to those places would be given to Bangladeshi firms.
But it appeared that the matter was not getting due importance. He said there was a common perception that the slow progress in signing the Teesta water sharing agreement and ratification of the Land Boundary Agreement with India pushed aside the issue of transhipment of goods.
He said the country's business community expected that the water sharing and land boundary agreements would get momentum with the visit of the Indian External Affairs Minister to Dhaka.
But even if there was not enough progress in talks at the diplomatic level on the two issues, the business community here expected that her visit would pave the way of signing a contract on carrying of the Indian goods by Bangladeshi carriers.
Mr Matlub Ahmed said the other most important issue was that Indian investors were setting up industries and business plants here on their own. The Indian government was also giving them various incentives to this effect.
But it appeared that they were doing it alone without taking any local partner. But a joint venture was always the most-welcome approach to such business in a friendly territory, he said. Bangladeshi businesses also expected it.
Mr Matlub Ahmed said most items like Parachute oil or Dabur products having their brand names and their access to the Indian market from Bangladesh would be profitable to both India and Bangladesh.
He said Sushma Swaraj was scheduled to meet with the leaders of the India-Bangladesh Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Bangladesh side would like to place these issues on the table for finding amicable solutions.
She is coming on "a goodwill visit" to Bangladesh at the invitation of her Bangladesh counterpart Abul Hassan Mahmood Ali.
She will also call on President Abdul Hamid and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
