A proposed comprehensive economic partnership agreement (CEPA) came up in a bilateral talk between Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and her Indian counterpart, Narendra Modi, on Friday in New Delhi.
The Indian Ministry of External Affairs said both leaders “looked forward to the beginning of negotiations on the CEPA, covering trade in goods, services and protecting and promoting investment.”
CEPA is more comprehensive and ambitious than a free trade agreement (FTA) as it includes services, investment, IPR, government procurement, disputes and regulatory aspects of trade, according to commerce ministry officials.
The two leaders also decided to inaugurate the Agartala-Akhaura rail link later at a convenient date along with unit 2 of the Maitri Power Plant and the Khulna-Mongla rail link.
They, however, expressed satisfaction at the implementation of development cooperation projects.
Sheikh Hasina went to India on Friday on a three-day visit to attend the New Delhi G20 summit as a guest.
At the meeting, the two leaders discussed the entire gamut of bilateral cooperation, including political and security cooperation, border management, trade and connectivity, water resources, power and energy, development cooperation, and cultural and people-to-people ties.
Current developments in the region and cooperation in multilateral fora were also discussed.
The two leaders welcomed the operationalization of the Agreement on the Use of Chittagong and Mongla Ports for the Movement of Goods to and from India, signed in 2018, and the commissioning of the India-Bangladesh Friendship Pipeline.
They also expressed appreciation for the operationalization of the settlement of bilateral trade in rupees and encouraged businesses on both sides to utilize the mechanism.
They welcomed the exchange of three MoUs for strengthening bilateral cooperation – one on digital payment mechanisms between the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) and Bangladesh Bank, another on the renewal of the cultural exchange program, and an MoU between the Indian Council of Agricultural Research and Bangladesh Agriculture Research Council.
With regard to the regional situation, Modi expressed appreciation for the burden shouldered by Bangladesh in hosting over a million persons displaced from Rakhine State in Myanmar and conveyed India's constructive and positive approach to support solutions towards safe and sustainable repatriation of the refugees.
The Indian side welcomed the Indo-Pacific outlook announced by Bangladesh recently.
The leaders agreed to continue working together to intensify their wide-ranging engagement, according to the Indian external affairs ministry.
