6 December 2020 The People’s Republic of Bangladesh and the Kingdom of Bhutan announced the signing of a preferential trade agreement between the two countries. The agreement was signed on behalf of the parties by Bangladeshi Minister of Trade Tipu Munshi and Bhutan Minister of Economy Lyonpo Loknath Sharma. The Prime Ministers of Bangladesh (Sheikh Hasina) and Bhutan (Lotay Tshering) participated in the signing of the agreement by videoconference.
The signing of the agreement took place on the 49th anniversary of Bhutan’s recognition of Bangladesh’s independence and the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries. Bhutan recognized Bangladesh’s independence 10 days before it was officially granted by Pakistan (December 16, 1971), against which Bangladesh (back then known as East Pakistan) fought in 1971.
The preferential trade agreement with Bhutan signed on December 6, 2020 is the first such agreement in the history of independent Bangladesh.
Under the agreement, about 100 Bangladeshi products will receive duty-free market access in Bhutan. These include: baby clothes and clothing accessories, men’s pants and shorts, jackets and blazers, jute and jute products, leather and leather products, dry cell batteries, fan, watch, potatoes, condensed milk, cement, toothbrush, plywood, chipboard, mineral and aerated water, green tea, orange, pineapple and guava juice.
At the same time, the agreement guarantees duty-free access to the Bangladeshi market for 34 Bhutan products, including oranges, apples, ginger, fruit juice, milk, natural honey, wheat or meslin flour, homogenized jam preparations, fruit jellies, marmalades, soybean food preparations, mineral water, wheat bran, quartzite, cement clinker, limestone, chipboard and wooden furniture.
Both parties to the agreement have declared to extend the list of products covered by duty-free access as soon as possible. At the same time Bangladesh announced that analyses of trade agreements signed by Bangladesh with 44 countries have begun. The possibility of concluding preferential trade agreements in their place is being examined. Bangladesh’s Ministry of Trade also announced that free trade agreements with Indonesia and Nepal will probably be signed in 2021.
Grzegorz Suchanicz
Source: www.unb.com.bd.