DHAKA: Amidst on going talks to establish a Bangladesh-Sri Lanka Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA), a high profile 54-member Bangladeshi business delegation is scheduled to attend the Commonwealth Business Forum, to be held in Colombo, on the sidelines of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Colombo, next week.

The Bangladesh High Commissioner to Sri Lanka, Sufiur Rahman, said that a Lankan delegation was in Dhakka recently, to discuss the possibility of finalising a PTA.

The talks are in the initial stages, but both sides have exhibited a keenness to take it to a fruitful conclusion, he noted adding that if all went well a treaty could be finalized within the next two months.

Asked if a Free Trade Agreement was not being pursued, the High Commissioner explained that the two sides were looking at gradual progress, which could be taken to greater heights with the finalization of a PTA.

The high profile Bangladesh business delegation, which was scheduled to arrive in Colombo on November 11, he said, would include 10 members from the Federation of Bangladesh Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI), 40 members of the Dhaka Chambers of Commerce and Industry (DCCI) and four members of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) of Bangladesh.

Rahman noted that the High Commission and the Sri Lanka-Bangladesh Business Council (SLBBC), in collaboration with the National Chamber of Commerce of Sri Lanka (NCCSL), would hold a meeting in Colombo on November 11, to explore new areas of collaboration to promote trade and commerce. There would be presentations focusing on business and investment potential and a panel discussion on collaboration in the fields of pharmaceuticals power and energy, garments, shipping, IT enabled services, banking etc., which would be followed by one-to-one meetings.

It would be a golden opportunity for Bangladeshi and Sri Lankan businessmen to exchange views and also network, he pointed out.

Deputy Director of the NCCSL Sujeewa Samaraweera said that Sri Lankan businessmen and investors, as well as relevant sector specific associations, have been provided with a good opportunity to make the best of what would be on offer. He observed that officials of the Department of Commerce, Board of Investment and Export Development Board would also participate in the Business Forum.

The High Commissioner, commenting on tourist exchanges between the two countries, said that not much progress had been achieved, but it was a sector that had great potential and could be developed with the right approach.

The balance of trade between the two countries last year was US$ 90 million, with an almost equal breakdown either way. Tea and rubber were the main products that his country imported from Sri Lanka, while Bangladeshi pharmaceuticals and garments were sought after in Sri Lanka, he noted.

Source: island.lk
BDST: 2017 HRS, NOV 07, 2013
SR/MMA/JCK