Commerce Minister Tipu Munshi on Tuesday said that India has assured Bangladesh of uninterrupted supply of essential goods round the year as New Delhi is setting an annual quota of exports to its immediate neighbor.
The quota will be set up after reviewing export data of India's essential commodities to Bangladesh in recent years, he said in a press briefing on his recent India tour at his ministry.
He said Bangladesh imports rice, wheat, onion, garlic, zinger, pulse and many other essential items from India. Sometimes India suspends export of those goods. India has this time assured that the supply will remain uninterrupted, he said.
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The commerce minister said that during Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's last visit to India, the Indian prime minister discussed and agreed to sign a trade agreement called Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (SEPA).
‘It has been discussed and agreed that it can be done as soon as possible. Hopefully, the agreement will be signed soon,” Tipu said.
He said that bilateral cooperation and trade facilitation through removal of various tariff/non-tariff barriers, import of high-yielding rubber clones from India, and long-term visa for businessmen have been discussed.
India will sincerely cooperate with Bangladesh in all these matters, while India proposed to use Indian rupee instead of dollar in Bangladesh-India trade, he said.
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A delegation led by Indian Commerce Minister Shri Piyush Goyal participated in the bilateral meeting in New Delhi. During the visit, Tipu Munshi had a courtesy meeting with Indian Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.
Senior Secretary of the Ministry of Commerce Tapan Kanti Ghosh, Additional Secretary of the Ministry of Commerce (FTA) Noor Md. Mahbubul Haque, Additional Secretary (Director General of WTO Cell) Md. Hafizur Rahman, Additional Secretary (Export) Rahim Khan were present at the press briefing.