Pankaj Saran, the Indian High Commissioner in Dhaka, has said his country will ease trade and visa regimes further to help accelerate bi-lateral trade and business with Bangladesh.
Addressing the quarterly luncheon meeting of the Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MCCI) at the Chamber Building in the capital city on Monday, the envoy assured the country's businessmen of his sincere and continuous efforts to increase their trade volume with India. At the meeting, chaired by MCCI president, Rokia Afzal Rahman, and some leading businessmen raised a number of issues that sought the envoy's attention to address those for strengthening the trade relations between the two neighboring countries. Among the issues were the non-tariff barriers that the country's exporters had been facing for years while doing business with their Indian counterparts. Time consuming visa processes was also brought in attention of the Indian diplomat seeking his remedial initiatives. Some of the businessmen sought immediate steps to reduce the processing time for testing and export certification by the Indian authorities. Improving infrastructures at the land-ports of either sides of the boarder was another major demand of the business people. Responding to them, Pankaj said his country would consider setting up the testing centres at frontiers so the processing time for standard certification could be brought down to a comfortable condition. Bangladesh Standard and Testing Institution (BSTI) already got a number of accreditations from the National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories (NABL) and National Accreditation Board for Certification Bodies (NABCB). Indian authorities often stop BSTI certified products at the entry points for further testing, thus delaying Bangladesh export to that country. The high commissioner also advised diverting Indo-Bangla trade from roads to waterways, railways and coastal port to ease congestions at land-ports.
Separate counter for medical visa
Regarding speeding up of visa process, Pankaj said India had already eased the visa regime by introducing long term visa for businessmen and no-visa entry for official passport-holders of Bangladeshi people. He said a separate counter had been set up at the Indian High Commission in Dhaka for medical visa applicants.
Apart from this initiative, a ‘technical solution’ was under review so the genuine applicants can get visa in a faster and easier process, the envoy added. Without giving any specific figure, Pankaj said the number of visas issued to Bangladeshi people doubled recently compared to 2009.