West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has outlined strengthening trade links with Bangladesh by forming a joint business delegation to remove obstacles faced by the businessmen.
“I am here for sharpening the existing relationship between the two countries,” she said at a gathering of business leaders of Bangladesh at a city hotel yesterday.
For strengthening trade and commerce ties, she said: “We have enough resources; we speak the same language and have similar culture. We need immediate nursing to move forward.”
Mamata arrived in Dhaka on Friday. She visited Bangladesh in the past, but this is her first visit as a chief minister.
Identifying some potential areas including tourism, garment, textile, hand loom, boutique and entertainment industry, she said: “We have a lot of businesses. Let us work together for the welfare of the people of the two nations.”
Mamata said there was scope for flourishing relations between Bangladesh and India, especially West Bengal, in the tourism sector. “If we can join hands, we can attract foreign tourists.”
She stressed the need for improving infrastructure and road link connectivity, particularly along the West Bengal.
“We are the gateway to Nepal and Bhutan, and you are for the north-eastern region of India. So, we can work together to make the two countries as business destination for others.”
On the yet unresolved land-boundary agreement, Mamata said it was now awaiting ratification of parliament.
However, her views on Teesta water sharing still remained unclear, as she said it was a problem for both the countries. “More discussion is needed and everything will be settled in the future.”
About allowing transmission of Bangladeshi private TV channels in West Bengal, she said some TV channels were already operating there. She said they would welcome business-related channels, jointly set up by West Bengal and Bangladesh.
The Bangladeshi business leaders asked Mamata to address different issues including para-tariff and non-para tariff barriers, lack of infrastructure in West Bengal side and allowing Bangladeshi entrepreneurs to set up hotels in Kolkata.
At the event, the Indian business leaders offered to set up joint industrial park and identifying the trade- and commerce-related problems to further increasing business relations between the two nations.
They also put some way-forward issues, including rationalisation of non-tariff trade barriers, ironing out infrastructure-related issues and investment opportunity in sectors like electrical machinery and equipment, roots and timber, ago-processing, automobiles and pharmaceuticals.
Speaking at the function, Industries Minister Tofail Ahmed said despite giving duty-free export facilities for all items except for arms and wine, “export to India is yet to be accelerated at the expected level due to para-tariff and non-tariff barriers.”
About the road and rail connectivity among Bangladesh, India, Nepal and Bhutan, he said: “We want to see real steps for making this planned connectivity true for the big leap.”
Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry President Kazi Akramuddin Ahmed, Indian Chambers of Commerce President Roopen Roy, India-Bangladesh Chamber of Commerce and Industry President Mohammad Ali and its founder Abdul Matlub Ahmad also spoke at the event among others.