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India-Bangladesh Business Forum meets in New Delhi
India and Bangladesh collaborate to make the two countries prosperous: Piyush Goyal
G2b MoUs signed between India and Bangladesh
By GDP Delhi
India and Bangladesh are not competitors but collaborators in making the two countries prosperous and ensuring a better future for their people, said Union Minister of Trade, Industry and Railways, Piyush Goyal during the India – Bangladesh Business Forum held in New Delhi today. The Prime Minister of Bangladesh, Sheikh Hasina, was also present at the India-Bangladesh Business Forum meeting.
Piyush Goyal urged Indian industry to be part of Bangladesh’s growth story by investing more in infrastructure, technology and energy, where Bangladesh has huge potential. This will help create a more balanced trade between the two countries, Piyush Goyal added.
The Minister of Trade, Industry and Railways assured the visiting Prime Minister that India is committed to meeting all Bangladesh demands in the railway sector, as the connectivity that the Expansion of railways will bring both countries boost trade and also provide wider and smoother access to the North. Eastern region of India.
The Prime Minister of Bangladesh thanked the Indian government and the three chambers of commerce and industry for giving this opportunity to the government and industry of Bangladesh to interact with Indian business leaders. The Prime Minister of Bangladesh informed that three special economic zones have been established in Bangladesh for Indian investors and hoped that this would expand Bangladesh’s export base.
On this occasion, two government-to-business memorandums of understanding (G2B) were signed between Start up Bangladesh and Tech Mahindra and the Bangladesh Economic Zones Authority and Adani ports and SEZs.
Bangladesh is India’s largest trading partner in South Asia. Bilateral trade between India and Bangladesh has grown steadily over the past decade. India’s exports to Bangladesh for fiscal year 2018-19 (April-March) amounted to $ 9.21 billion and imports from Bangladesh for the same period amounted to $ 1.22 billion of dollars.
India and Bangladesh have an enabling trade agreement. India and Bangladesh are members of various regional trade agreements, including the Asia-Pacific Trade Agreement (APTA), the SAARC Preferential Trade Agreement (SAPTA), and the South African Free Trade Area Agreement. South Asia (SAFTA) which govern tariff regimes for trade. Under SAFTA, India granted Bangladesh duty-free and quota-free access on all products except alcohol and tobacco. Various bilateral institutional mechanisms, including meeting at the trade secretary level, discussions at the navigation secretary level, joint trade, customs and fisheries working groups, and banking and infrastructure sub-groups LCS / ICP meet regularly.
Four Border Haats, two each in Tripura (Srinagar and Kamalasagar) and Meghalaya (Kalaichar and Balat), have been established for the benefit of communities living along the border areas of the two countries. Ten more Border Haats on the Indo-Bangladesh border are being implemented.
India’s cumulative foreign direct investment in Bangladesh more than doubled from USD 243.91 million in 2014 to USD 570.11 million in December 2018. Indian companies have invested in various sectors including telecommunications, products pharmaceuticals, consumer goods and automobiles in Bangladesh. During the visit of the Prime Minister of Bangladesh, Sheikh Hasina in April 2017, 13 agreements representing approximately 10 billion dollars of Indian investments, mainly in the electricity and energy sectors in Bangladesh, were signed.
Bangladesh is now India’s largest development partner. India has granted 3 Lines of Credit (LOC) to Bangladesh over the past 8 years for an amount of USD 8 billion.
In addition to the lines of credit, the Indian government has also provided assistance in the form of grants to Bangladesh for various infrastructure projects such as Agartala-Akhaura rail link, inland waterway dredging, India Bangladesh Friendship Pipeline. and High Impact Community Development Projects (HICDP) in the areas of education, health, water, culture, urban development, disaster management and community well-being.
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