Commerce Minister stresses for boosting Bangladesh-India trade cooperation
File Photo
Commerce Minister Khandakar Abdul Muktadir has emphasized on enhancing trade, investment, and industrial cooperation between Bangladesh and India.
He said that to harness the economic potential of the two countries, trade barriers must be removed to restore a normal trade environment. He also mentioned the need to ease visa processes and build long-term economic partnerships by involving the private sector.
The minister made these remarks today (Tuesday) during a meeting with a delegation from the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) at the Secretariat. The meeting discussed bilateral trade and investment relations, existing challenges, and various aspects of future cooperation. The CII delegation was led by its Director General, Chandrajit Banerjee.
The Commerce Minister said that despite differences in size, population, and economic scale, the geographical realities of Bangladesh and India create significant opportunities for mutual cooperation. In particular, there is potential to expand trade, connectivity, and investment centered around Bangladesh's location and India's northeastern region.
Noting that the combined economy of South Asian countries is large but intra-regional trade is comparatively low, he said that increased economic connectivity would create new opportunities for industrialization, investment, and employment.
Regarding recent trade restrictions between Bangladesh and India, the Commerce Minister said discussions are needed to bring bilateral trade back to its previous normal state. He expressed hope that positive progress would be made on this issue within the next few months.
The meeting also discussed visa complexities for businesspeople and professionals. The Commerce Minister said that repeatedly applying for new visas every few months for regular travelers—whether for medical treatment, business, or other purposes—is not practical. Cooperation between the two countries is needed to establish a long-term visa system.
Meanwhile, the CII delegation proposed forming two joint task forces to enhance cooperation in Bangladesh's infrastructure and high-tech sectors. One will focus on developing private investment and Public-Private Partnerships (PPP) in the infrastructure sector, while the other will work on boosting cooperation in future-oriented industries such as semiconductors, green hydrogen, battery storage, and data centers.
The CII noted that India invested approximately 25 lakh crore rupees in the infrastructure sector last year, a significant portion of which came from the private sector. They expressed the view that by leveraging India's experience, Bangladesh can also attract domestic and foreign institutional investment.
The meeting also emphasized the importance of utilizing the capacity of local manufacturing industries. Indian businessmen noted that many local institutions, despite having capacity, are weakening due to various problems. If local production can be increased, import dependence will decrease and project implementation speed will increase.
Citing the example of a joint venture with Energypac, one representative said that despite having local production opportunities, many products have to be imported. Bringing goods through land ports takes up to 40 to 45 days. If local industries are revived, this problem will be largely reduced.
The CII also expressed interest in investing in the FMCG sector. Interest was shown in setting up a state-of-the-art integrated factory near Dhaka for producing various items including soap, home care insecticides, and fragrances. At the same time, the need for an effective regulatory framework to control the quality of unregistered products was highlighted.
Calls were also made to harmonize the customs structure for the use of energy-efficient technologies in industry. CII representatives said their steam-related technologies could save 10 to 35 percent of gas in the textile, ready-made garment, and food industries. However, the use of these technologies is being hindered due to customs disparities.
Additionally, the CII proposed internship opportunities for Bangladeshi youth in Indian companies and cooperation in resolving visa complications for Bangladeshi engineers working in third countries.
At the meeting, both sides emphasized making Bangladesh-India economic relations more effective and productive through specific initiatives beyond formal talks, business-level engagement, and institutional frameworks.
