Singapore and Malaysia have shown interest to sign free trade agreements (FTAs) with Bangladesh to 'create a win-win situation for trade and investment for each country'.
Officials said the issue of the FTA is likely to be figured prominently in separate meetings scheduled for April in Malaysia and Singapore as the two southeast Asian countries have shown interest to discuss it, among others.
The Bangladesh-Malaysian Joint Commission meeting is expected to be held in the first week of April in Kuala Lumpur where the foreign ministers of both the countries will lead their respective delegations.
The Foreign Office consultation (FoC) meeting of Bangladesh and Singapore has been fixed on April 6 focussing on trade and investment including a free trade agreement. The Foreign Secretaries of both the countries will lead the FoC.
Both the meetings are likely to be held after almost a 10-year interval as the 4th Joint Commission meeting and the 1st FoC meeting were held in the middle of 2005.
Though the ministry of foreign affairs is yet to take decisions on holding discussion on FTA during these two meetings, officials said, the agenda will be fixed after inter-ministerial meetings.
An official, preferring not to be named, said both Singapore and Malaysia have been pursuing signing of FTA with Bangladesh since long.
But the issue remained pending as Bangladesh raised a demand to include mobility of people in it.
"We have not yet signed any FTA with any country. So it cannot be done without study on benefits from it," said an official.
The official said the Singapore government agreed to host the second FoC in its country on April 6 on request from Bangladesh which wants to boost relations between the two friendly countries following increase in trade and investment activities with Singapore.
They said the FTA has been a demand from the business community including the Trade Promotion Bureau of Singapore.
They said the need for resuming FoC was felt following increase in trade and investment activities of Bangladesh and Singapore.
Singapore is likely to invest in Bangladesh's power plant and LNG terminal while Dhaka will be intered to send skilled and semi-skilled manpower including seamen to Singapore.
Officials said providing scholarships for Bangladeshi students and allowing them to work part-time are also the issues Bangladesh wants to raise during the upcoming meeting.
They said earlier in 2012, Malaysia also raised the demand for FTA but it was not considered due to Bangladesh's demand to include free mobility of people. Foreign Ministry officials said holding of the joint commission meeting of Bangladesh and Malaysia has been decided during the Prime Minister's visit to Kuala Lumpur.
The decision to form a Bangladesh-Malaysia investment forum is likely to come up in the meeting.
Following the 1st FoC, visa procedure was eased for government officials and diplomats.
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