Dhaka seeks more Hanoi investment.
Bangladesh has requested Vietnamese entrepreneurs to come up with more investment to take advantage of its facilities, especially in the field of manufacturing agriculture machinery and equipment. The request was made during the first meeting of Bangladesh-Vietnam Joint Committee on Trade that ended in Dhaka on Monday. At the two-day meeting, Bangladesh focused on its liberal investment policies and attractive packages of fiscal, financial and other incentives to the foreign entrepreneurs. Senior secretary of commerce ministry Hedayetullah Al Mamoon led the Bangladeshi delegation while Hoang Quoc Vuong, deputy minister for industry and trade of Vietnam, led his side at the JCT meeting. Dhaka also requested Hanoi to import more pharmaceutical products, jute and jute goods, ceramic, and leather and leather goods from the country. In the meeting, both sides agreed to revise few provisions of the trade agreement and extend further cooperation in the field of bilateral trade and commerce. Bangladesh and Vietnam inked the Trade Agreement on September 24, 1996.
The two sides reviewed the development in bilateral trade as well as composition of trade between the two countries and expressed satisfaction over considerable improvement of trade relations over the last years. In the JCT meeting, both sides agreed to make further efforts to boost the trade relations in line with the economic potentials. The two sides stressed the need for domestic consultations and studying feasibility to reach an agreement to reduce the tariffs for the advantageous commodities in accordance with the regulations of WTO. The countries agreed to encourage and assist their entrepreneurs to visit and participate in each other’s trade fairs to explore market opportunities. They also reached a consensus to set up Vietnam-Bangladesh Business Council to boost bilateral trade. Vietnam requested Bangladesh to create favourable conditions for Petrol Vietnam to run its activities in the country. The two sides also considered the possibility of expanding cooperation to other sectors such as chemical (rubber, fertiliser, pesticide, basic chemical), engineering (machines and industrial equipments, agriculture machines and tools, automotive), consumption goods (paper and plastic), food processing, agriculture products (beverage, milk, cookies, edible oil), steel production, electricity, renewable energy, mineral exploitation and infrastructure development (roads, industrial parks).
The second meeting of the Joint Committee on Trade will be held in Hanoi. Meanwhile, Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry president Kazi Akram Uddin Ahmed on Monday urged the visiting Vietnam trade delegation to allow duty-free and quota-free access to Bangladesh products to their market. The FBCCI chief made the call at a discussion meeting with the high-profile visiting trade body of Vietnam at FBCCI Bhaban in the capital. The FBCCI president said Bangladesh could offer many good quality products, including diversified leather products, ceramic, plastic, textiles, chemical products, and pharmaceuticals. ‘It is clear that the trade balance is hugely in favour of Vietnam. In this context, trade facilitation has become necessary to resolve the non tariff barriers like certification requirements and important licensing system for Bangladeshi exports,’ Akram added. He hoped the trade gap between two countries would be reduced through mutual cooperation. Speaking on the occasion, the Vietnamese deputy minister said bilateral trade between the two countries was now modest and direct Dhaka-Hanoi air link and simplification of Visa processing could increase the interaction.
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