India and Bangladesh sharpen focus on trade deal during Hasina’s visit

India and Bangladesh will soon commence negotiations on the proposed Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA). The issue was brought up in the meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Bangladeshi counterpart Sheikh Hasina. Hasina who is currently on a four day tour to India, will leave for Dhaka tomorrow.

“With the expansion of connectivity between our two countries, and the development of trade infrastructure on the border, the two economies will be able to connect more with each other, support each other. Our bilateral trade is growing rapidly. Today, India is the largest market in Asia for Bangladesh’s exports. To further accelerate this growth, we will soon start discussions on the Bilateral Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement,” Modi said.

Joint studies on the proposal have been held.

The ongoing Russia Ukraine war driving geopolitical uncertainties just when the world was starting to recover from the blows of the Covid 19 pandemic has brought out the need to ink the agreement at the earliest. Besides, Bangladesh too will exit the list of least developed countries and would need new thrust to keep its export sector thriving.

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“Bangladesh is a very important partner for us and under the Neighbourhood First approach, we want to boost connectivity and trade with all the countries with which we share our boundaries,” Ashwani Mahajan, national co-convenor of Swadeshi Jagran Manch said

Mahajan added that trade agreements with neighbours will not be just driven by self benefits but with the aim of creating stability in the region.

Analysts in Bangladesh told India Narrative that the economy and integration of business activities between the two nations must be given priority. “Once the economy booms, politics and social issues will automatically take a back seat,” said one of them.