JTC agrees to boost trade

Bangladesh and Myanmar have agreed to work out ways to increase the volume of the annual bilateral trade to $500 million from existing $100 million through establishing greater connectivity.
The agreement was reached at the seventh meeting of the Bangladesh-Myanmar Joint Trade Commission (JTC) in Naypyidaw, the capital of Myanmar, on January 14-15.
Issues related to border trade, cooperation in agriculture, food, fisheries, power and mineral resources sectors; shipping arrangement; exchange of business delegation; participation in trade fairs; popularising business through the Letter of Credit; exploring possibilities of reducing duty on certain products; and finalisation of bilateral investment agreement figured in the meeting.
Commerce Secretary Mahbub Ahmed led the Bangladesh delegation comprising officials from ministries concerned, leaders of business bodies including FBCCI President Kazi Akram Uddin Ahmed, and Bangladesh Ambassador to Myanmar Anup Kumar Chakma, said a PID release yesterday.
A 43-member Myanmar team was led by Deputy Minister for Commerce Dr Pwint San.
Mahbub Ahmed underscored the importance of connectivity and expressed satisfaction over the start of operation of flights on Dhaka-Yangon-Dhaka route and finalisation of the draft shipping agreement between the two countries.
He emphasised establishment of road connectivity and drew attention to the fact that as growth demands of the developed countries are likely to remain weak in few more years, greater importance is needed to be laid on regional trade.
In the JTC meeting which ended in the spirit of mutual understanding and cooperation at the Bangladesh Embassy, the two sides also decided to form two Joint Working Groups--one on cooperation in agriculture and the other on cooperation in the fisheries sector.

The business leaders of Bangladesh and Myanmar enjoyed a unique opportunity to share views on issues of bilateral trade and investment during the two-day programme.