The Bangladesh Foreign Trade Institute (BFTI) virtually organised the first stakeholder consultation meeting of the joint study on a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) between Bangladesh and India on Wednesday.

The meeting was solely focused on the investment section of the joint study.

Dr Md JafarUddin, Senior Secretary, Ministry of Commerce and the Chief Guest of the meeting, said, “Mutual recognition in the area of investment and trade between Bangladesh and India can strengthen the historical bonding and create more opportunities for growth.”

Md Obaidul Azam, Chief Executive Officer (In-charge), BFTI who chaired and moderated the event, put emphasis on increasing bilateral investment flows between two countries considering the potentials.

Md Shawkat Ali Waresi, former aditional secretary, Ministry of Commerce and sectoral consultant of the study, presented the key-note presentation at the meeting. Stakeholders from diverse sectors provided their inputs for the enrichment of the study.

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They urged the Ministry of Commerce to include a joint testing facility, a one-stop service in India, and opening investment for Bangladeshi investors in India in the proposed Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) between Bangladesh and India.

All the stakeholders were optimistic that the proposed CEPA agreement will result in removing the investment barriers and higher investment inflow between two neighbouring countries.

Officials from public sectors, business leaders, Indian investors and academicians participated in the meeting as stakeholders. DCCI President Rizwan Rahman, Nihad Kabir, President of MCCI, Faruque Hassan, President of BGMEA, Syed Almas Kabir, President of BASIS, Mahbubul Alam, President of CCCI, and Abdul Matlub Ahmad, President of India-Bangladesh Chamber of Commerce and Industry attended the meeting as business leaders.

The Centre for Regional Trade (CRT) under the Indian Institute of Foreign Trade (IIFT) has been nominated to conduct the joint study by the Government of India.