Narinjara News


Bangladesh-Burma Joint Commission meets tomorrow

Dhaka, July 25: Bangladesh Commerce minister Air Vice Marshal (retd) Altaf Hossain Chowdhury leaves here for Rangoon today to attend a meeting of the Bangladesh -Burma Joint Commission there on July26, according to today The Independent.

A six-member delegation will accompany the Minister. The delegation includes Bangladesh ambassador to Burma ABM Rahim, president of Bangladesh-Burma Joint Business Council Rashed Maksud Khan and its Vice President Syed Mahmudul Haq.

The one-day meeting will review Dhaka-Rangoon trade relations 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 maybe on putting into the service the coastal shipping service between the two countries. Two other significant items on the agenda are border trade and making operational the road link between the two countries.

Rashed Maksud Khan told the news agency that issues such as account trade, coastal shipping and establishing direct road link between the two countries are agree matters.

These were worked out during Bangladesh’s Prime Minister Begum 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 operation the account and coastal shipping.

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

Bangladesh has proposed to build major section of the road as a mater of gesture to the Burma Military government to see that its eastward policy is being slowly transformed into dynamic.

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 has a maximum ceiling of 10,000dollars exchange of goods by individual businessman on either side.

Talks are underway, he said, to raise the limit to 15,000 dollars, as the lowest bench maker is now acceptable only as a special case.

Khan said Bangladesh’s relation with Burma is a close neighborly relation and moves are on to make it more integrated by way of increased trade and economic collaboration and through enhanced cultural exchanges.

He said Bangladesh has already held a single country trade fair in Rangoon and next such single country fair there is likely to be held early next year.#

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