The New Nation - Internet Edition

Staff Reporter

Commerce Adviser Dr Hossain Zillur Rahman yesterday said Bangladesh and India have reduced the huge barrier to bilateral trade between the two countries and hoped that the remaining obstacles would be removed shortly.

He was inaugurating a two-day `Buyer-Seller Meet (BSM) cum Exhibition' on Indian footwear component and accessories at Bangladesh-China Friendship Convention Centre in Dhaka yesterday. He said Bangladesh had ample opportunities to export its quality products to India. The opportunities could not be availed in the past due mainly to non-tariff barriers.

Some barriers have already gone. Bangladeshi battery is already being exported to India. The country can also export quality leather products to India, he added.

Mentioning the poor infrastructure condition in the bordering seven-sister provinces of India, he said bilateral trade could get a boost if easy transportation to those provinces is arranged.

The adviser hoped that the tanneries of Hazaribagh would be shifted to the tannery park at Savar by 2010, as the Government has made all necessary arrangements to this effect.

Indian Footwear Component Manufacturers Association (IFCOMA) with the support of Council of Leather Export (CLE) of India, Leather goods and Footwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association of Bangladesh (LFMEAB) and Indian High Commission in Dhaka is organising the trade show.

Commerce Secretary Feroze Ahmed, acting Indian High Commissioner Mrs Mukta D. Tomar, leading businessman Monjur Elahi, IFCOMA president BD Bhaiya and LFMEAB president Saiful Islam were also present at the inaugural function.

Dr Zillur was sarcastic to say, "Dhaka is a city infested with so many policy-making seminars and talks. Bureaucrats here are always busy with policy-making seminars, unlike this one."

This trade show is uneven with traditional functions and would create a culture of realistic initiatives in place of organising recurrent policy-making seminars, he added.

Thirty Indian firms are showcasing their products and services in the trade event. The trade show will forge new business cooperation between Indian and Bangladeshi footwear manufacturers, the organisers hopped.