Indo-Bangladesh trade talks begin today

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Indo-Bangladesh trade talks begin today

A Bangladesh-India meeting is set to begin today (Wednesday) in a Dhaka hotel to discuss ways of expediting bilateral trade between the two next-door neighbours, officials said.

“We’ll discuss trade potential and ways for removing bottlenecks,” a member of Bangladesh team for the trade talks told the FE Tuesday. Sources said anti-dumping duties imposed by India on some Bangladeshi products are expected to come up prominently for discussion at the commerce secretary-level meeting. Besides, recognition of BSTI certification, stock of Indian Rupee (INR) because of demonetization, utilization of Indian air-cargo space for Bangladesh’s export to third countries and Lilliput Kidswear issue have already been put on the agenda.

On the other hand, the Indian side is set to discuss different matters including enhancement of bilateral trade, removal of port restrictions, other trade infrastructure-related issues, BBIN (Bangladesh, Bhutan, India and Nepal) initiatives and export of sugar to Bangladesh, they added. Progress in opening new border haats and future growth plans are set to be discussed at the meeting.

Commerce secretary of Bangladesh Shubhashis Basu will head the 16-memeber host crew in the two-day meet while his counterpart Rita Teaotia will lead the Indian side. The Indian authentic delegation has already arrived in the capital, Dhaka. The closing bilateral Indo-Bangla commerce secretary-level assembly took vicinity in New Delhi on November 15-16, 2016. Indo-Bangla bilateral merchandise change stood at $6.16 billion in the fiscal yr (FY) 2016-17, up from $5.45 billion in FY16.

Bangladesh’s exports to India fetched $672.40 million towards imports costing $6.16 billion, widening the alternate gap to $5.49 billion in FY 17.

PM for expanding Halal Tourism at OIC ministers’ confce

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PM for expanding Halal Tourism at OIC ministers’ confce

tressing the importance of expanding ‘Halal Tourism’, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Tuesday said her government is taking initiatives to increase infrastructural and recreational facilities in the country for tourists, reports UNB.
“We’re taking initiatives to expand infrastructural and recreational facilities for tourists. Besides, world-class facilities are also being made available in different parts of the country in the private sector,” she said.
The Prime Minister said this while addressing the inaugural ceremony of the three-day 10th Session of the Islamic Conference of Tourism Ministers (ICTM) of OIC at Sonargaon Hotel in the capital.
She said Islamic economy continues to grow and be operated by the Muslim community around the world due to the universal acceptability of Islamic products and services.
“It has huge potentials to develop faith-based Islamic products and services. These products and services have become popular even in non-Muslim communities,” Sheikh Hasina said.
She said OIC member-states need enhanced cooperation and partnerships both in public and private sectors to develop halal foods, Islamic finance, halal pharmaceuticals and cosmetics and Halal Tourism as these are among the growing sectors of the Islamic economy.

The Prime Minister stated the government has been enforcing many mega projects, inclusive of a 6.15-km Padma Bridge, to improve infrastructures and connectivity. The Padma Bridge will create overland connectivity between Dhaka and southern parts of the country, which includes the Sundarbans, she said.
Noting that construction of an worldwide airport in Cox’s Bazar, the traveller capital of Bangladesh, is underway, she said it will facilitate the tourists to fly without delay to Cox’s Bazar from any part of the world. “Cox’s Bazar is being connected with the aid of rail community also.”
Hasina stated tourism is the quickest growing zone appreciably contributing to the technology of foreign exchange and employment throughout the world. “… the conference bears a extremely good importance for future cooperation and coordination on a broader spectrum in the uplift of the tourism enterprise of the OIC member states.”
Mentioning that the refugee disaster has grow to be very acute throughout the globe creating limitless sufferings and distresses to the displaced people, she stated Bangladesh has been going through the disaster for years with the modern inflow of forcibly displaced Rohingyas from Myanmar.
“Out of the sense of humanity, we’ve furnished transient refuge to the Rohingyas who fled to Bangladesh to break out atrocities in their homeland,” the Prime Minister said. She extended thanks and gratitude to the OIC and other global firms and nations for their outstanding assist to Bangladesh on the Rohingya problem and providing help for the displaced people. “In this respect, the multi-dimensional position of the OIC is commendable.”
Hasina saidthe relationship amongst the OIC member states need to be based totally on mutual trust, understanding and cooperation in the view of the modern international scenario.
She said the alternate of understanding and understanding in a number fields can help all of us improve their stage of standard.”I suppose tourism is one of the areas the place we have higher possibilities and potentials to work together.” The Prime Minister stated her government has given super importance to and emphasis on creating tourism in Bangladesh as an financial sector.
She said Bangladesh has lots of assets for growing tourism industry, together with the world’s longest unbroken seashore with the longestmarine drive, Cox’s Bazar, the world greatest mangrove forest, the Sundarbans, which is also domestic to Bengal tigers, the daughter of the sea, Kuakata, and lots of green tea-gardens in the north-eastern phase of the country. The Prime Minister inaugurated the tenth ICTM, being held with the theme of ‘Promoting Regional Integration through Tourism’.
Bangladesh was once chosen as the Chairperson of the 10th ICTM for the next two years. The chairpersonship used to be handed to Civil Aviation and Tourism Minister AKM Shajahan Kamal at the inaugural function. The Niger Tourism Minister used to be the Chairperson of the ninth ICTM.

Norway to set up 800MW solar power plant in Chandpur

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Norway to set up 800MW solar power plant in Chandpur

A total of 3,002 acres of land will be required for setting up the power plant

I Scatec Solar, a Norwegian power producing company, will set up an 800MW solar power plant in Chandpur at $1.0 billion.

I Scatec Solar and Bangladesh Economic Zones Authority (Beza) signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for setting up the plant in Dhaka on Tuesday, according to a Beza press release.

A total of 3,002 acres of land will be required for setting up the power plant, said the Norwegian firm.

Beza Executive Member Md Harunur Rashid and I Scatec Solar Vice-President Morten Langshold signed the MoU.

Beza Executive Chairman Paban Chowdhury and Ambassador of Norway to Bangladesh Sidcel Blekenmn were present at the program.

Ginger harvest going on across Nilphamari

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Ginger harvest going on across Nilphamari

NILPHAMARI, Feb 06: Ginger harvest is going on across the district.
Sources said some 50 per cent of the total ginger demand of the country is fulfilled by the district. Wholesalers from Dhaka, Chittagong, Khulna and other districts have started visiting the area to purchase the item.
Farmers’ sources said virus and other diseases affect the crop every year. They said ginger is traditionally cultivated in the district but there is no availability of virus free and hybrid variety seed. They urged the authority concerned to take immediate step in this regard.
However, farmers are happy over the present ginger price. Ginger is being sold at Tk 60 per kg while the wholesale rate is Tk 2,000 per maund (40kg).
Sources said some 80 maunds of ginger can be produced on 30 decimals of land if hybrid and virus free-seed is available here.
Abdur Rahman, a ginger farmer of Itakhola union under Sadar upazila, said he cultivated ginger on 30 decimals of land where he produced 20 maunds of output. He said he made a profit of Tk 30,000 this season.
DAE sources said some1807 hectares of land have been brought under the farming of the item with the production cost of 18570 tonnes.
Cultivation area is decreasing due to low production, sources added.

Renewable energy conference begins in Dhaka tomorrow

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Renewable energy conference begins in Dhaka tomorrow

A three-day conference and exposition on renewable energy will begin at the Senate Building of the University of Dhaka tomorrow. The “National Renewable Energy Conference & Green Expo-2018” aims to cut reliance on non-renewable sources of energy and make Bangladesh energy autarky.

The Institute of Energy of the DU and the Bangladesh Solar Energy Society will jointly organise the event, according to a statement.  Four seminars will be held at the conference with a focus on sustainable energy management.

The exposition will showcase renewable energy technologies, Saiful Huque, director of the institute, told a news conference at the DU on Saturday.Tawfiq-e-Elahi Chowdhury, energy adviser to the prime minister, will attend the opening ceremony.

More export items to get cash incentive

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More export items to get cash incentive

The government has expanded the list of exporters eligible for cash incentive by granting the facility to some nontraditional goods in order to boost overseas shipments.

The finance ministry awarded 15 percent cash incentive to accumulator battery, shoe, and goods made of coconut fibre, and 10 percent to ICT products.

The central bank issued a notice to this effect on Thursday. The incentive will be retrospectively effective from July 2017 to June 2018, according to the notice.

The exporters of the newly included products will have to apply within 60 days of the issuance of the circular to enjoy the benefit.  Locally made accumulator batteries will qualify for the incentive, but those produced in export processing zones and economic zones will not come under the purview of the facility.

Shoes made of a mix of artificial and fabric in exporters’ very own factories will get the money subsidy. two The merchandise should have a minimum 30 percentage local price addition and will now not experience obligation drawback and duty-free benefits, in accordance to the notice. Incentives will also be given for export of products made of coconut fibre.

At present, products made from hogla, straw and sugarcane fibre revel in 15 percentage subsidy.

Besides, the garb quarter gets 5 percent money incentive for exporting goods to typical locations like the US, Canada and the European Union. The price is 8 percent for new markets. In total, 27 export-oriented sectors revel in money incentive. The government plans to provide Tk 4,500 crore in money incentive to the export-oriented area in 2017-18.

Int’l trade to be more dynamic

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Int’l trade to be more dynamic

Bangladesh Bank is set to upgrade the Bangladesh Automated Clearing House (BACH) in a bid to help businesspeople settle their local export- and import-related transactions in a day instead of existing 7-10 days.

The upgraded version, which will be called BACH II, is scheduled to go live on May 3. Senior bankers welcomed the move, saying BACH II will make international trade more dynamic. There are many instances of the bank-customer relationship deteriorating because the banks could not disburse the exporters’ fund promptly due to the existing manual system, said Syed Mahbubur Rahman, managing director of Dhaka Bank.

“Such problems will be solved when the central bank will introduce the BACH II,” said Rahman, also the chairman of the Association of Bankers, Bangladesh. Transparency will be ensured in the banking sector when the BACH II will become operational, stated Md Arfan Ali, managing director of Bank Asia.

“The economic system will get a momentum,” he said. The inter-bank on-line banking machine will additionally get a enhance as transaction will be settled on the day. MA Halim Chowdhury, managing director of Pubali Bank, echoed the same.

Transactions in five overseas countries’ currencies — the US dollar, pound sterling, Japanese yen, Canadian dollar and euro — will be settled by means of using the new elements of the BACH II. Introduced in November 2010, BACH was once the first ever digital clearing residence of Bangladesh. It has two components — the Automated Cheque Processing System and the Electronic Funds Transfer.

Both the systems operate in batch processing mode, meaning transactions obtained from banks at some point of the day are processed at a pre-fixed time and settled thru a single multilateral netting parent on every man or woman bank’s respective books maintained with the BB. Under BACH II, clients will additionally be in a position to settle their inter-bank on line transactions in a day.

The BACH approves purchasers to settle their inter-bank or cross cheques in local currency inside 24 hours.

For overseas cheques, it takes 7-10 days. But the BACH II will clear it in just a day.

India-Thailand difference delaying FTA under BIMSTEC

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India-Thailand difference delaying FTA under BIMSTEC

Difference between India and Thailand over market access is one of the main reasons why the FTA under BIMSTEC remained stalled during last couple of years.

While India has demanded easing of rules for its professionals, Thailand has asked for relaxation in the foreign investment rules in multibrand retail trade for its retailers.

Moreover, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka are pushing for the entry of China into the grouping, which is technically not possible at this stage, albeit it can join BIMSTEC as ‘observer.’

Sources said the major difference in BIMSTEC FTA is that India wants to negotiate the pact afresh and not what was agreed in 2004, when the FTA framework was signed, whereas all other member countries want to maintain status quo.

India is aggressively pushing for the conclusion of Free Trade Agreement (FTA) under the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) by November during its Summit meeting.




The main goal of India is boosting regional trade through FTA bypassing Pakistan, according to a report published in http://www.thehindubusinessline.com.

Conclusion of the FTA in goods, the talks for which were launched in 2004, will be one of the topmost agenda items of External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj during the upcoming BIMSTEC Foreign Ministers’ Meeting that is scheduled to be held in Nepal on August 10-11, according to sources.

However, though the government is keen on concluding the FTA, a lot of hurdles need to be crossed before all members agree to sign the pact, the primary reason being disagreement between India and Thailand over market access for professionals, duty cuts on traded goods and policy relaxation, sources told Businessline.

“BIMSTEC needs to produce a few visible results or successes in the short term. Concluding the protracted negotiations for a Free Trade Agreement in goods, and later, services, and investment, is the way forward. Without an appropriate FTA, the grouping will continue to be perceived as an empty shell,” said Rajiv Bhatia, former Indian Ambassador to Myanmar, now Distinguished Fellow at Gateway House, a Mumbai-based foreign policy think-tank.

The BIMSTEC Trade Negotiating Committee last met in 2015 despite the leaders push to expedite it in the last summit held in October 2016.

“BIMSTEC FTA should be negotiated quickly and can be concluded if the political will is there. In non-economic front it has moved fast and same can be followed in the FTA process,” said Prabir De, Professor and Coordinator of ASEAN-India Centre, Research and Information System for Developing Countries.

This year the BIMSTEC – India, Thailand, Mynamar, Nepal, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Bhutan – will complete 20 years since it was established. As a result, India wants the FTA to be concluded this year to assert its “relevance” especially at a time when the government when the SAARC is in doldrums and India wants to bypass Pakistan in all its sub-regional economic and non-economic arrangements, sources added.

The criticality to sign the deal is multi-fold for India. Firstly, an FTA will undoubtedly boost the ‘Look East’ policy, which is one of key aspects of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s foreign policy, thereby contributing to the development of the vulnerable north-eastern region.

Secondly, this will also serve India’s larger purpose of sideline Pakistan.

In 2004, it also decided that first the goods pact will be signed and that it will followed by subsequent pacts in services and investment and a comprehensive trade agreement will be signed.




Ctg port expansion on unused railway lands can ease congestion: CMCCI

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Ctg port expansion on unused railway lands can ease congestion: CMCCI

The ongoing congestion in the major Chittagong Port could greatly be eased with the port\’s expansion on 65 acres of unused lands now lying under the control of the Bangladesh Railway (BR).

The Chittagong Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CMCCI) highlighted such a need in its letter to the Prime Minister\’s Office on August 05.

This will facilitate the port\’s handling capacity through extension of its area and construction of the necessary infrastructures there, the chamber said.

The Chittagong Port Authority (CPA) is yet to get back its lands from the BR as per an agreement despite strong demands of port users, exporters, importers and businesses for extension of area of the Chittagong port.

Sources in the CPA said the port had failed to commission its newly-constructed car and auction sheds from 2015 until recently without a connecting road on the land which is in possession of the Bangladesh Railway (East zone).

The 300-metre long and seven-metre wide connecting road of the CPA is the only entrance to car and auction sheds which remained without any use for two years.

Under the Port Development Project, the Chittagong Port Trust acquired 14 acres of land through the Railway authority in 1955-56.

The port authority planned to construct a truck terminal on the land but it is yet to implement the project as the land is still with the Railway authority.

Sources said the Chittagong Port and Railway East were unified since the British rule in the Indian subcontinent.

During the 1953-58 period of the Pakistan era, Chittagong Port acquired 920 acres of land in 10 mouzas through the Railway under the Port Development Project.

After separation of the unified Port Authority and Railway East in 1960, the Railway authority was scheduled to hand over 568 acres of land to the CPA  but it handed 471 acres of land to the port between 1960 and 1980 and another 32 acres of land between 1998 and 2005.

But the BR is yet to hand over the rest 65 acres of land since the last 57 years.

A committee, headed by additional secretary of the Bangladesh Railway Kamol Krishna Bhattacharjee, is now working out ways to find a solution shortly, sources said.

Meanwhile, the Chittagong Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CMCCI) has urged the government to expedite handing over of Railway lands in the port area to the CPA.

This will facilitate the port\’s handling capacity through extension of its area and construction of the necessary infrastructures there, the chamber said.

In a letter to Principal Secretary of the Prime Minister\’s Office (PMO) Dr Kamal Abdul Naser on August 05, CMCCI Vice President AM Mahbub Chowdhury said the Chittagong port is reeling under container congestion and facing logjam of vessels at its outer anchorage in recent months.

He said export trade faces a negative growth due to imposition of surcharge on cargo in the port and the imported raw materials for different industries face delay in delivery.

As a result, the special initiative of the Prime Minister to keep all the operational activities of the port and Chittagong Custom House open round the clock from August 01 remains to be executed.

Mr Chowdhury, also adviser for Port and Customs of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA), said the pace of business expansion following special initiatives taken by the Prime Minister, is appropriate and has been appreciated by the business community.

He said the lands in the port area are shared by the CPA and Railway authority but both are governmental organisations.

He said at the current perspective of the port\’s activities, its area needs to be doubled to keep pace with the growth of import and export, handling of cargo and calling of vessels at the port from across the globe.

As the headquarters of the Assam-Bengal Railway was in Chittagong, one-third area of the port city is under control of the Railway authority.

A vast area of the Railway\’s unused lands, especially the left-out old structures, has turned out to be criminals\’ den over the decades with trading of drugs, Yaba and unsocial activities.

He urged the government to bring these railway lands under control of the Chittagong Port Authority for extension of its facilities for the sake of national economy.

The trade body leader also proposed construction of a railway line in the port area because it will immensely facilitate transportation of railway wagon-based cargo to different destinations of the country

MRP project outlives tenure for drawbacks

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MRP project outlives tenure for drawbacks

Cost more than doubles for deadline failures, may stand in way of e-passport introduction.

Government passport authority feels it difficult to wrap up the long-drawn-out machine-readable passport (MRP) project for its insufficient delivery capacity, though the MRPs will be redundant pieces of travel document shortly.

Another scheme, in the meantime, lies in wait for introducing electronic passport or e-passport, officials said.

The MRP project had gone through two-phase time extension and was scheduled to expire in June 2017.

In the wake of such laggard run, the Department of Immigration and Passports (DIP) recently requested the government to extend the project further by a year.

Concomitant with deadline failures the project cost also escalated in three phases to Tk 7.10 billion. An increase in the number of service centres in head offices and across the country also contributed to the cost rises.

Initial project cost was Tk 3.10 billion that rose up to Tk 4.80 billion in the second phase.

The government plans to launch next year e-passport to replace the MRP. Until then, the project is destined to be continued under a latest decision on its extension, the sources said.

The MRP project, being implemented by IRIS Corporation Bhd Malaysia, was scheduled for handover to the DIP by 2014.

Talking to the FE, DIP Director-General Masud Rezwan said the department is in a process of launching e-passport and the current project could be continued until the start of e-passport.

“We want assist of the venture for software program and technical administration of the MRP,” he said.

The DIP is now preparing Development Project Proposal (DPP) for the launch of e-passport, he added.

“We held a assembly last week on e-passport at the home ministry with its secretary in the chair.”

He similarly said the DIP is imparting coaching to its officers to decorate their capabilities to match in the digital passport regime.

“It has additionally manpower scarcity as some 1,020 officers are working across the country out of accredited posts for 1184,” he added.

Each of the officials is able to supply offerings to most forty service- seekers day by day however they are serving one hundred twenty five humans on average, he said, referring to their constraints.

Despite all this, the DIP has brought several reforms in passport-and visa- issuance processes.

Since April last, passport-seekers of sixty five overseas international locations have received passport without delay from the ministry of domestic affairs inside a week, he said.

Passports are printed centrally from the department’s head office at Agargaon.

“Earlier, the DIP had to ship the passport by way of foreign ministry in a prolonged process. Expatriate Bangladeshis had to wait two-three months for a passport,” he said.

The DIP floated tenders and FedEx won the bid, he said.

It has issued some 18.0 million MRPs so a long way through 67 passport workplaces across the country, he added.

The DIP underneath the home ministry had launched the mission for issuing about 18.4 million MRPs by means of 2014.

Bangladesh had a compulsion to introduce MRP via April 2010 to comply with the International Civil Aviation Organisation requirements. Failure to come to be an ICAO member would possibly have an effect on Bangladeshi citizens’ get entry to to the international labour market and visas.

The government would have to spend a massive sum once more for issuing electronic passports after the MRPs become invalid throughout the globe. All developed international locations in the world have already added electronic passports.

The e-passport may additionally be issued for 10 years and might be a biometric passport containing distinct aspects of the holder.

The authorities will flow tender and start a assignment to make e-passport below build-own-operate-transfer (BOOT) basis.