Commerce Adviser Sheikh Bashir Uddin has said that the interim government is working to offer cargo services to exporters at significantly lower rates than those availed in India, till Delhi cut off the transshipment facility through its land ports for Bangladeshi exports to third countries

He made the remarks during the inauguration of direct cargo flights through Sylhet Osmani International Airport on Sunday.

Bangladesh had enjoyed the facility for five years (2020-25), during which it emerged that some exporters actually found it cheaper to transfer their products to some countries by sending the goods overland to India, from where they could avail cheaper cargo services, than by sending them direct from Bangladesh.

A chartered Airbus A330-300 freighter took off from Sylhet headed for Zaragoza in Spain at around 8:15pm, carrying 66 tons of garment products.

The adviser mentioned that this marks the first cargo service outside Dhaka since the country's independence, calling it a historic milestone for the people of Sylhet.

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He further said that the launch of cargo flights from Osmani International Airport is undoubtedly a groundbreaking initiative. "The fascist government had destroyed our own thinking and made us dependent."

Sheikh Bashir Uddin also mentioned that the closure of India’s transshipment facility has prompted the government to resolve the issue internally, and this has been accomplished in a short time thanks to collective cooperation.

With the opening of the new cargo complex at Sylhet Osmani International Airport, the region now has a new route for exporting goods quickly.

The Chairman of the Civil Aviation Authority, Air Vice Marshal Muhammad Manjur Kabir Bhuiyan, who presided over the event, called the development a "new horizon" for the country's export sector, signaling a breakthrough.

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He said that two cargo flights will initially depart from Sylhet per week, with plans to gradually increase the frequency.

Bangladesh's Ambassador to Mexico Mushfiqul Fazal Ansarey, Secretary of the Ministry of Civil Aviation and Tourism Nasrin Jahan, and Hafiz Ahmed, Director of MAG Osmani International Airport, also spoke at the ceremony.