FTA with India won’t benefit Bangladesh
The New Nation, Bangladesh
FTA with India won’t benefit Bangladesh
By Staff Reporters
13 August 2005
Non-tariff barrier is a major impediment to cut the trade deficit with India, economists and academics observed yesterday at a workshop.
They underscored the need for regular dialogue on standoff issues existing between the two countries to boost bilateral trade.
Discussions at the workshop centred on longstanding issues between Bangladesh and India, arising from the large bilateral trade deficit with India.
The workshop organised by the World Bank in collaboration with the International Finance Corporation (IFC), South Asia Enterprise Development Facility (SEDF) and the Bangladesh Enterprise Institute (BEI) at the BEI auditorium.
Commerce Minister Altaf Hossain Chowdhury was chief guest at the workshop that was also attended by Indian High Commissioner Veena Sikri and Secretary of Ministry of Commerce Faruq Ahmad Siddiqi as special guests.
Inaugurated by BEI president Farooq Sobhan, the workshop was addressed, among others, by Veena Sikri, WB consultant Dr Gary Pursell, and senior economist Dr Zaidi Sattar and Prof A Bayes of Jahangirnagar University.
The speakers made presentations on the key findings of the study focusing on trade prospects and economic welfare implications of a FTA.
They said, the indicator of bilateral trade between Bangladesh and India has been showing deficit position of Bangladesh for over the years featuring unusual in the context of other neighbouring countries of the world.
The Commerce Minister Altaf Hossain Chowdhury said, "A large trade deficit exists between Bangladesh and India and there are non-tariff barriers which significantly hinder the development of trade relations between these two countries."
Altaf said, "Very little research has been done on FTA and this is the first workshop that is discussing its potentials."
Veena Sikri said, "The informal or illegal trade of non-macro commodities between Bangladesh and India is itself a major problem for both the neighbouring countries."
The Indian envoy called for opening the borders to discourage such illegal trade and suggested for setting up of border markets.
President of the Bangladesh Economic Association (BEA) Qazi Kholikuzzaman, President of the Federation of Bangladesh Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI), Abdul Awal Mintoo chaired separate sessions of the workshop.
Among others, Commerce Secretary Faruq Ahmad Siddiqi, programme manager of IFC Marlon Lezama, former state minister for foreign affairs Abul Hasan Chowdhury, former commerce secretary Syed Alamgir Farrouk Chowdhury, DU professor Ali Taslim, among others, took part in different sessions.
The workshop will be followed by a similar one in India next week being organised by the World Bank jointly with the National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER) in New Delhi. South Asia Enterprise Development Facility (SEDF) is a co-sponsor of the event.
