Emphasising diversification of exportable products, they said otherwise it would be too tough for the country to reap benefits an RTA offers.

Development Research Network (D.Net) and Oxfam, Bangladesh jointly organised the seminar on Regional Trading Arrangements: Opportunities and Pitfalls for Bangladesh at the CIRDAP auditorium.

"Bangladesh should not go for just making an RTA with other countries. Any RTA should be matched with domestic policy so that it can be justified to the poor," CPD Research Director Professor Mustafizur Rahman, who chaired the seminar, said, suggesting that before making any RTA, market access should be ensured so that all stakeholders are satisfied with a fair trade.

Dr Mostafa Abid Khan, deputy chief of Bangladesh Tariff Commission, presented the keynote paper.

Dwelling on prospects and barriers for Bangladesh's being part of a free trade pact, Khan said the trade-GDP ratio registered since 1990 shows that Bangladesh has been increasingly integrating itself to international trading system.

Despite all efforts, Bangladesh's export basket is still confined to a few products, while markets so far tapped are not beyond developed ones, such as EU and US, he pointed out, adding that Bangladesh's dependence on developed countries regarding international trade is still high, compared to other developing countries and its dependence on developing countries for its import is increasing rapidly.

"In such context, Bangladesh needs to take the changing international trade scenario into consideration while formulating its future trade policy," Khan observed.

Hence, the country should also examine whether it is necessary to engage itself more in RTAs and if so, what its interests are, he said.

Khan also suggested a study on core sensitive sectors, for which Bangladesh needs to be cautious in reducing tariffs.

While identifying the sensitive sectors, consumers' benefits and overall economic gains should also be taken into account, he said.

Dr Sajjad Zohir, executive director of Economic Research Group (ERG), asked for attaching more importance to services sector, which have huge potential to grow both nationally and internationally.

Dr Ananya Raihan, D.Net executive director, advocated such an RTA that ensures benefits for the common people.

Echoing Raihan's view, Anil P Tamby, country representative of Oxfam, Bangladesh, said, "Wrongly negotiated RTA can bring negative things for a country as well as for the poor people."

Sohel Ahmed Chowdhury, former commerce secretary, said capacity building of the government officials should be given top priority to gain something from international trade talks.

He sees frequent transfers as a major barrier for being a skilled negotiator in the international trade arena.

"In the recent past, we have ignored the Asean due to our misunderstanding about its benefits, although it is a vibrant regional pact," he also pointed out.

Naznin Ahmed, research fellow of Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies (BIDS), Linu Mathew Philip, CENTAD, New Delhi, India, A K M Masud Ali of MTF Alliance, SM Ahsan Habib, founder member of D. Net, Dhaka, and Manjur Ahmed, adviser to the Federation of Bangladesh Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI), also took part in the discussion.