Bangladesh and India have laid out a framework to formulate a new trade agreement – Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) – to address the inconsistencies and the huge deficit of existing bilateral trade.
Government officials in Delhi told Bangla Tribune that the two countries are working tirelessly to complete the signing of the new agreement during Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's proposed visit to India later this year.
The current volume of bilateral trade between the neighbouring countries is close to $10 billion.
In a meeting on Friday, Bangladesh's Commerce Secretary Tapan Kanti Ghosh and his counterpart Subrahmanyam discussed the progression of the agreement.
The joint study group, comprising experts and officials from both countries, presented an in-depth analysis of various aspects of the proposed the CEPA at the meeting.
Following the meeting, a spokesman for the Indian Ministry of Commerce said on Saturday that the two countries' trade secretaries had agreed to finalize the draft prepared by the joint study group as soon as possible.
Once it is finalized, the CEPA will be ready for signing.
No deadline has been set for finalizing the draft, but both sides are working to complete it in the next few months.
The two neighbouring countries are optimistic and confident that the new bilateral trade will gain new momentum and impetus after the signing of the CEPA.
Both countries agreed to sign the CEPA during a secretary-level meeting last year.
In September 2018, Indian Commerce Minister Suresh Prabhu and his then Bangladeshi counterpart Tofail Ahmed said at a joint press conference that the two sides would sign the CEPA.
Why need a new agreement?
The proposed agreement raises questions as to why a new one is needed when SAFTA (South Asia Free Trade Agreement) is still available.
Research and Information System for Developing Countries (RIS) Prof Prabir Dey told Bangla Tribune the scope of the CEPA would be much wider as it has the word comprehensive in its title. “In SAFTA, we only talk about goods or products. However, in the new agreement three areas will be covered. These three areas are services, goods, and investment. As a result, the scope of cooperation will be much greater.
A long tailback of Indian loaded trucks at Sona Masjid Land Port in Chapainawabganj recently Mahmud Hossain Opu"Apart from that, under SAFTA, Bangladesh enjoys free trade as long as it remains a least developed country (LDC) economically. If Dhaka takes the next step, a new trade agreement will be needed between the two countries," he added.
India also considering maintaining the LDC alliance for three more years to provide duty-free access to Bangladeshi products under SAFTA.
This special facility would continue till the signing of the CEPA.
The decisions were taken at the secretary-level meeting between the two countries on Friday.
Key points of the meeting
A number of other important decisions were taken at Friday’s meeting, which is expected to have a positive impact on enhancing trade cooperation between the two countries.
The Integrated Check Post (ICP) at Benapole-Petrapole, the main commercial point between the two countries, will be open 24 hours a day from now on.
It was also decided that a new 900-meter-long siding rail line at Benapole and a loading and unloading platform at Darshana railway station in India will be built to facilitate freight trains between the two countries.
A container handling facility will be set up at Sirajganj in Bangladesh, for which approval of Detailed Project Report (DPP) has been sought. A similar report has been approved for the construction of a rail-based ICD at Ishwardi.
The two countries agreed to increase the number of border haats at the meeting. Border haats, which have been closed for the past two years due to the pandemic, will be reopened soon.
