Bangladesh-Bhutan PTA likely in December

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A preferential trade agreement (PTA) between Bangladesh and Bhutan is likely to be signed in the victory month of December to improve bilateral trade.

Bangladesh and Bhutan are good regional neighbours. Bhutan was the first country to recognise Bangladesh's independence.

Because of this, Bangladesh's first PTA with Bhutan may very well be signed on December 06, a senior official said.
 
"It's pandemic time now. The signing will be held physically or virtually, but it's yet to be finalised."

The possible format for signing the proposed PTA will be confirmed through a discussion with commerce minister Tipu Munshi, the state added.

Commerce ministers of both countries are likely to sign the deal jointly.

Dhaka and Thimphu have already got the go-ahead from their respective cabinets for signing the PTA.

Beneath the deal, 100 Bangladeshi products, including 10 new goods, will love duty-free usage of the Bhutanese market.

 Alternatively, thirty-four Bhutanese items, including 16 fresh goods, may also enjoy duty-free usage of the Bangladeshi market.

When asked, commerce secretary Md Jafar Uddin said, "We're getting ready to sign the PTA with Bhutan on December 06. It'll be a exceptional deal."

"It will be the first PTA in almost 50 years."

Bangladesh has yet to sign any bilateral PTA or FTA, although it is part of several multilateral trade deals, said a higher official of the ministry.

The two multilateral FTA deals include the South Asian Free Trade Area or SAFTA agreement and BIMSTEC (Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation) FTA, he added.

Alternatively, three multilateral PTA deals are Asia-Pacific Trade Agreement or APTA, TPS-OIC (Trade Preferential Scheme among member states of the OIC), and D-8 (Developing-8) PTA, he mentioned.

Economists advocate signing PTAs and FTAs to handle the challenges when Bangladesh graduates to another level, saying that preferential trade deals will help boost exports significantly.

"We must sign several PTAs and FTAs before (Bangladesh's) graduation to reap the advantages of least-developed country category…," said the official with good understanding of the issue.

High officials of both Bangladesh and Bhutan decided to sign the deal because they talked throughout a daylong video conference hosted on June 16, 2020.

A 10-member delegation of commerce ministry, led by additional secretary Sharifa Khan, and a 14-member delegation of Bhutan, headed by trade department director general Sonam Tenzin joined the function.

The PTA text, set of products and other related issues were finalised through the videoconferencing, according to a press release of the commerce ministry.

The meeting made a decision to send the agreement documents to law ministry and cabinet division for vetting and approval respectively.

The volume of bilateral trade between your two friendly countries is little by little expanding.

The quantity of bilateral trade between your two countries stood at $57.90 million in fiscal year (FY) 2018-19. It was only $26.52 million in FY 2012-13.

Apparel, foods, plastics, pharmaceuticals, furniture and electrical products are being exported from Bangladesh.

Generally, Bangladesh imports chemical, pulp, boulder, fruit and vegetable, the release mentioned. 
Source: https://thefinancialexpress.com.bd

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