Commerce Minister leaves Bangladesh for Rangoon Today to Review Bilateral Trade

Chittagong, July 25, 2004: Bangladesh Commerce Minister Altaf Hossain Choudhury leaves here for Rangoon today to attend a meeting of the Burma-Bangladesh Joint Commission tomorrow accompanied by a six-member delegation, according to BSS, a Bangladeshi News Agency.

Bangladesh ambassador to Burma ABM Rahim, president of Burma-Bangladesh Joint Business Council Rashed Maksud Khan and its Vice President Syed Mahmudul Haq are in the delegation team.

The one-day meeting will review Dhaka-Rangoon trade ties and seek to find ways and means to further enhance bilateral trade. Two agreements may be signed on the occasion, the first one aimed to make operational the account trade between the two countries. The second agreement may be on putting into service the coastal shipping service between the two countries.

Bangladesh cabinet in its regular weekly meeting Chaired by Prime Minister Begum Khaleda Zia approved a proposal to sign a bilateral Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on agriculture between Bangladesh and Burma on 23^rd December 2003.

Minister Altaf Hossain Choudhury said while addressing a view exchange meeting with leaders of Chittagogng Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCMI) on 20^th July 2004 that Bangladesh government is trying to lease out agricultural land by paying US$ 5 per acre for one year period from Burma to grow paddy and seasonal crops such as onion, pea, garlic, potato, tomato and etc. Bangladeshi farmers would grow these crops. But, this has been discussed verbally and didn’t reach to any agreement. This agreement may be signed on the occasion of next trip to Burma, said a participant, who declined to mention his name.

They targeted the farmlands, which are very closed with Bangladesh. They have plans to increase relationship between two neighboring countries for the benefit of Bangladeshi government and its people. SPDC possibly will provide lands from Arakan State and so much so that the farmers of the Arakan State would be pushed into difficult position, said a Rohingya trader from Chittagong.

The Minister requested to the journalists who attended the meeting not to expose this news until the government signs an agreement with Burma regarding this matter, said a Businessman who also preferred not to write his name.

Two other significant items on the agenda are border trade and making operational the road link between the two countries.

Rashed Maksud Khan told BSS yesterday that issues such as account trade, coastal shipping and establishing direct road link between the two countries are agreed matters. These were worked out during Bangladesh's Prime Minister Khaleda Zia's visit to Rangoon last year.

These issues also came up for review during the Burma prime minister's follow up visit to Dhaka later on. "All these are agreed matters only to be put into effect now," he said.

Rashed Maksud Khan said the two sides might sign agreements during the forthcoming meeting for making operational the account trade and coastal shipping.

They will also review the progress of the direct road link project that needs to be developed on old road system on the Burma side.

Bangladesh has proposed to build major sections of the road as a matter of gesture to the Burma government to see that its eastward policy is being slowly transformed into reality.

About border trade, he said it is already in place and the signing of the account trade will make it easier to become more dynamic. He said at present the border trade has a maximum ceiling of 10,000 dollars exchange of goods by individual businessman on either side, said in the Daily Star today. ##

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