India keen to boost trade ties with Bangladesh: Envoy

India is keen to take trade relationship with Bangladesh to a new height, said Indian Ambassador to Bangladesh Vikram K Doraiswami on Tuesday.

The ambassador expressed the eagerness while paying a courtesy call on FBCCI President Md Jashim Uddin in Dhaka.

At the meeting held at the FBCCI office in Motijheel, Vikram Doraiswami said his country wants to improve trade and investment relations with Bangladesh in the areas of logistics, food processing, automobiles and garments.

Jashim Uddin said that development of the logistics sector is the prime agenda of the FBCCI. The apex trade body is working to submit a 12-year plan to the government for the development of the logistics. On India’s trade potential with Bangladesh, the FBCCI president said India could be a major supplier of yarn and cotton to the garment industry in the near future.

Citing some of the Indian companies operating in Bangladesh, the FBCCI chief said they all are doing great. Therefore, the investment of other Indian entrepreneurs in Bangladesh has a huge potential to be profitable, he added.

During the meeting, Jashim Uddin called for the development of infrastructure in the Indian part of the land ports to boost bilateral trade. He said poor infrastructure hampers bilateral trade as many products cannot be exported from Bangladesh due to lack of facilities at Indian ports.

The Indian ambassador informed that another new gate would be opened soon at Petrapol land port to facilitate the movement of trucks. He also assured that development work for other land ports would be undertaken if these ports are permitted to trade more goods.

He said his government was keen to facilitate trade between the two countries. Therefore, the issue will get importance in the meeting of the secretary level next February. The ambassador also hoped to launch a CEO’s forum between the two countries.

He said the forum of chief executives of top India-Bangladesh companies could play the most effective role in resolving the issue of bilateral trade.

FBCCI Senior Vice President Mostofa Azad Chowdhury Babu, Vice President Md Habib Ullah Dawn, directors Rejaul Kariem Rejnu, Bijoy Kumar Kejriwal, Md Shah Jalal, Mohammed Bazlur Rahman, Dr Joshodha Jibon Deb Nath, CIP, Priti Chakraborty and Secretary General Mohammad Mahfuzul Hoque were present at the meeting.

In the last one year, Bangladesh-India trade increased by 94 percent. At the end of the current financial year, Bangladesh’s exports to India are expected to reach 2 billion for the first time.