Bangladesh for better trade and investment ties with India

KOLKATA: Bangladesh on Thursday stressed the need for improved relations with India and sought discussions to sort out hurdles that may arise, Deputy High Commissioner of the country in the city Andalib Elias said.

Speaking at an interactive session organised by the Indian Chamber of Commerce here, Elias said that there is a golden opportunity for the two neighbouring countries to take trade and investment to new heights.

"A proper discussion could solve the hurdles which lie ahead in order to achieve that," he said.

West Bengal Minister for Agriculture Sobhandeb Chatterjee said there is tremendous opportunity in the economic relationship between the two countries and West Bengal being a close neighbour, the state can reap benefits from that. West Bengal can also export agricultural products to Bangladesh, he added.

President of Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry Rizwan-ur Rahman said that in the last financial year the bilateral trade volume between both the countries was USD 9.9 billion but the potential is much higher.

According to him, Bengal is the second largest trade partner of Bangladesh and almost 54 per cent of the foreign medical visitors to India are from that country. Both the countries are continuously exercising the institutional framework for a sustained partnership, he added.

ICC president Pradeep Sureka said India and Bangladesh share a historical relationship besides economic and cultural ties. Both India and Bangladesh had worked towards strengthening the bilateral relationship, he said.