Bangladesh to start FTA talks with Sri Lanka
DHAKA: The Bangladeshi Government Sunday decided to start bilateral
free trade agreement (FTA) negotiations with India, Pakistan and Sri
Lanka, a senior official said.
The decision was made at a high-powered inter-ministerial meeting
here, an official of the Commerce Ministry told reporters after the
meeting.
Bangladesh's missions in the three neighbouring countries would start
the negotiations process while a core committee in Dhaka will prepare
the terms of reference for each of the three countries before the final
talks start.
The decision came as the South Asian Free Trade Area (SAFTA) has not
been implemented yet while the neighbour countries moved to sign
bilateral trade deals with each other to boost trade.
India signed a bilateral trade deal with Sri Lanka in 2001, leading
to five fold increase in trade between the two countries. New Delhi has
also started bilateral trade negotiations with Southeast Asian and some
Gulf countries. Pakistan has also started similar negotiations. - Xinhua |