CEPA with India: Bangladesh forms two panels to start talks
Apparel Resources | 10 April 2023
CEPA with India: Bangladesh forms two panels to start talks
Bangladesh has formed two separate committees — Advisory Committee by Senior Commerce Secretary Tapan Kanti Ghosh and the negotiation committee headed by Additional Secretary to the Commerce Ministry Noor Mahbubul Haque — to start negotiations with India over signing of a proposed Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement or CEPA with India, with a view to boost bilateral trade and investment in the post-LDC period.
The formal negotiation of the CEPA was supposed to be launched a few months ago but had to be put on hold for some time as the Indian side wanted to further examine a joint study, as per Tapan Kanti Ghosh, who claimed the negotiations will start soon even as the new date, to this end, will be finalised in consultation with both countries.
As per the Senior Commerce Secretary, the signing of the CEPA with India is a part of Bangladesh’s preparation to face the challenges of the LDC graduation in 2026 even if owing to the status graduation to a developing country, Bangladesh is set to lose its preferential trade benefits.
