Govt to start FTA talks with India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka

The government yesterday decided to start talks for bilateral free trade agreements (FTA) with neighbouring India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
The decision came at a high-level meeting held at the Commerce Ministry with its adviser Hossain Zillur Rahman in the chair.
“As multilateral initiatives have failed to yield expected results all the participants at the meeting have opined in favour of bilateral FTA,” Commerce Secretary Feroz Ahmed told reporters after the meeting.
India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka have long been pushing Bangladesh to sign FTA with them.
Many countries, including the US, now prefer bilateral free trade deals, although they have many regional and multilateral trading agreements in place.
The meeting also made a decision on formation of a multi stakeholders working group involving both public and private sector representatives and trade experts to identify pros and cons under an FTA.
The meeting also agreed to ask three Bangladesh high commissioners in those countries to work on the issue seriously.
Sources said participants in the meeting suggested that the government should request those countries to give Bangladesh an easy market access without any negative list and tough rules of origin for the proposed FTA.
Secretaries, high officials, trade experts attended the meeting.
Bangladesh trade deficit rose to $2.3 billion until March with India and Pakistan in the just concluded fiscal year, of which India alone accounts for $2.2 billion deficit.
The country managed to enjoy a narrow trade surplus with Sri Lanka where the trade figure is only $27 million until March of fiscal 2007-08.