Bangladesh high on Anand Sharma visit

[Lankan Ranger]

Bangladesh high on Anand Sharma visit

Expectations are running high in Bangladesh ahead of India’s commerce and industry minister Anand Sharma’s visit this weekend.

Sharma’s 33-member delegation to Dhaka, including 22 businessmen, would be the first ministerial visit since Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee visited about six months ago, when he signed a $1 billion credit line for financing 14 infrastructure projects.

The issues on the table for Sharma are expected to be wide-ranging. Though the agenda for discussion was not known, market access, certification and transit transshipment are likely to come up during the bilateral talks. Apart from meeting his counterpart in Bangladesh, Sharma could meet Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

The Bangladesh government is likely to seek duty-free access for 61 items on the “negative list”. “This has been a long-standing demand, so it is likely to feature in the bilateral discussions, though I have not seen the agenda as yet,” said Mustafizur Rahman, executive director of the Centre for Policy Dialogue, Bangladesh.

“The issue of quantitative restrictive on readymade garments, which is eight million pieces, will also be part of the discussions,” said a leading industrialist, Abdul Matlub Ahmad, chairman of the Nitol-Niloy group and president India-Bangladesh Chamber of Commerce and Industry. The Nitol-Niloy group, incidentally, would sign a joint venture agreement with Arvind Denim.

The most important issues could be the preparatory work on transit shipment that could be finalised during Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s visit, later this year. “Fifteen corridors have been identified by India. The ground work for discussion of fees for access may be broached,” said Rahman.

However, to make transit a success would mean making huge investments to the tune of $5 billion in road, rail and river traffic infrastructure. The fees or toll could help bridge the more than $3 billion trade deficit between India and Bangladesh, a sore point.

The bilateral discussions took off after Hasina’s visit in January 2010. But while there have been visits from both sides, quite a few issues remain unresolved. “Yes, there has been some tangible progress like the $1 billion credit line, but larger issues like the transit transshipment will have to be addressed,” Rahman said.

Bangladesh expects the trade relationship with India to further increase this financial year. “We expect the total trade to touch $4-bn mark this financial year. The imports from India will be around $3 billion, while the exports from Bangladesh may cross $500 million,” Bangladesh Commerce Minister Muhammad Faruk Khan had told Business Standard last week.

Khan indicated there was an imbalance of imports and exports between both countries. “There is a huge gap in Bangladesh’s imports and exports to India, this should be reduced. Though the main focus of exports from Bangladesh is on textile and machinery items, we want to expand it to other sectors.”

In that context, Sharma’s visit is being seen as a trigger likely to speed up unresolved issues. As Ahmad sums it up: “It’s a goodwill mission, confidence building measure to show that things will be moving faster, hereon.”

Bangladesh high on Anand Sharma visit

 

[eastwatch]

Irrespective of what an Indian newspaper may say, a Sharma visit will not put Bangladesh on high expections. People of BD do not expect anything positive to come out of these goodwill and confidence building routine trips by any indian Minister.

An Indian Milister comes only to get more concessions by talking extra sweet with his counterpart. The diplomats who will be accompanying their minister are not open minded. They will use all their tricks taught in the Arthasastra to derail any mutually beneficial proposals from the BD diplomats, and will take away as much benefits as they can.

Well, this is what is happening between BD and India since 1971. They sign duty free entry of our goods, only to impose some other rules at the border to nullify the spirit of the treaty.

 

[Kinetic]

The bilateral discussions took off after Hasina’s visit in January 2010. But while there have been visits from both sides, quite a few issues remain unresolved. “Yes, there has been some tangible progress like the $1 billion credit line, but larger issues like the transit transshipment will have to be addressed,” Rahman said.

Bangladesh expects the trade relationship with India to further increase this financial year. “We expect the total trade to touch $4-bn mark this financial year. The imports from India will be around $3 billion, while the exports from Bangladesh may cross $500 million,” Bangladesh Commerce Minister Muhammad Faruk Khan had told Business Standard last week.

Here it says $ 5 billion and another say $ 7 billion, these are huge amount to be invested in infrastructure of Bangladesh. No wonder that the expectation is high. I think India should move cautiously regarding this.


But export-imports should not be any problem other than RMG, if it makes Bangladesh happy and we get some benefits from it. India's export or import with Bangladesh is less than 1% of total. So little affect.

 

[Kinetic]

Bangladesh will seek duty-free access of its 61 items to Indian market, or withdrawal of the existing quantitative restriction on the duty-free entry of local apparel products during the upcoming visit of Indian Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma, a top trade official said.

Indian commerce minister due next Saturday

This will give Bangladesh huge advantage over other exporters to India.

 

[Kaniska]

I beleive...these news papers publish some report just for the sake of appeasing their target audiences....India has to admit than India has a failed foreign policy in building relationship wrt Bangladesh and Nepal...Let us admit the fact...See...i really agree to some of the suggestion made by fellow responsible members like Eastwatch....I personally feel that if as a nation India aspires to go to a different league than our foreign and economic policy should be reflected accordingly....See ...If India can invest around $2billion in Afghanistan just to project its soft power impression then when all of us know there will be absolutely no return on investment in monetary term from that investment.And then India could have simply invested the money out of its pocket which is given in a form of soft loan to Bangladesh. I feel its worth investing in Bangladesh and try to win the trust deficit with them. And most important factor is that i feel in economic term India should be more flexible....it should give more than rather expecting any thing in return...

 

[true_indian]

Let the troll games start....I'm first. India is evil..they never going to give us a better deal..They are cheaters..They can't be trusted. The prophet warned us about them.

 

[true_indian]

Irrespective of what an Indian newspaper may say, a Sharma visit will not put Bangladesh on high expections. People of BD do not expect anything positive to come out of these goodwill and confidence building routine trips by any indian Minister.

An Indian Milister comes only to get more concessions by talking extra sweet with his counterpart. The diplomats who will be accompanying their minister are not open minded. They will use all their tricks taught in the Arthasastra to derail any mutually beneficial proposals from the BD diplomats, and will take away as much benefits as they can.

Well, this is what is happening between BD and India since 1971. They sign duty free entry of our goods, only to impose some other rules at the border to nullify the spirit of the treaty.

Oh $hit.. you already started. Okay I am second then...Third is up for grabs.

 

[blood]

we need to enhance our trade relation's with bangladesh . what eastwatch is saying, if it is true, then it is unfortunate and sad. I am for better relation's with bangladesh

 

[true_indian]

we need to enhance our trade relation's with bangladesh . what eastwatch is saying, if it is true, then it is unfortunate and sad. I am for better relation's with bangladesh

So you think Indians use techniques from 'Arthasasthra' to negotiate with Bangladeshis? Are you new here?

 

[eastwatch]

This will give Bangladesh huge advantage over other exporters to India.

Yes, Bd will request to get duty free access of some of its goods, but India will, as usual, reply that it has noted the points raised by Bd and will study the proposals. Then, the talk will stall and nothing will come out of these India-centric talks. Indians come here to take not to give any thing in exchange.

 

[eastwatch]

Let the troll games start....I'm first. India is evil..they never going to give us a better deal..They are cheaters..They can't be trusted. The prophet warned us about them.

I have decided not to disagree with any of your points.

 

[senselesstalk]

I agree that India is not doing enough with Bangladesh to ease issues, but at the same time we have to note that Bangladesh also has to fight for its rights, it has to talk, engage in discussions with Indian government, constant dialogue between government & business communities are required. India will look after for its interests, Bangladesh has to look for its. Problem is when Ms. Hasina's government comes, things move and both countries start to understand each other and make progress, but them opposition party comes in to power in Bangladesh, they see India more as aggressor, a threat, as enemy and spoil all the good the earlier government did, which is causing the problem. Politics & economics should not be mixed. India & china too have complex issues, but not mixing commerce. India have huge trade imbalance with china, but still India is engaging with china to reduce that. Talks & Dialogue is the only way to go...

 

[Tiki Tam Tam]

Irrespective of what an Indian newspaper may say, a Sharma visit will not put Bangladesh on high expections. People of BD do not expect anything positive to come out of these goodwill and confidence building routine trips by any indian Minister.

An Indian Milister comes only to get more concessions by talking extra sweet with his counterpart. The diplomats who will be accompanying their minister are not open minded. They will use all their tricks taught in the Arthasastra to derail any mutually beneficial proposals from the BD diplomats, and will take away as much benefits as they can.

Well, this is what is happening between BD and India since 1971. They sign duty free entry of our goods, only to impose some other rules at the border to nullify the spirit of the treaty.

If somebody gives me his hand, I will not look at him with suspicion.
Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa

Pure love and suspicion cannot dwell together: at the door where the latter enters, the former makes its exit.
Alexandre Dumas

 

[blood]

So you think Indians use techniques from 'Arthasasthra' to negotiate with Bangladeshis? Are you new here?

Yes i am new here. i don't know what that 'arthasasthra' thing is but what i understand by reading his post is that he is trying to say that indian diplomat's put some legal curb's on bangladeshi trader's which does not allow them to sell thier poduct's in india , which is wrong. Countrie's like America do the same thing with us, they increase the taxe's on our I.T product's,and ban our pharmaceutical product's which causes great loss to our companie's, our industrilist's alway's keep complaining of such thing's to the finance minister, even china is no allowing indian companies enough market access, generally big ecomomie's do such thing's with developing countrie's, it might be true in bangladesh's case aswell. We can't expect the whole world be fair when we are doing something wrong.

 

[Kaniska]

we need to enhance our trade relation's with bangladesh . what eastwatch is saying, if it is true, then it is unfortunate and sad. I am for better relation's with bangladesh

And again relationships are not built on a night....I see the reason for bad relation with Pakistan...but i feel there are lot many steps needs to be taken by Indian GOV for relation regarding Bangladesh,Srilanka and Nepal...And in particular to Bangladesh...i know that some section of people will be telling that there is a growing sense of India bashing in Bangladesh...but the fact is we have to think again ....as a big neighour what have we done for them for which they will trust us....And this is not a excuse that India facilitated in Bangladesh independence....if we argue in that term then Pakistan has every right to say that Pakistan helped Taliban to kick out Soviets from Afghans....so afghans should always be loyal to Pak...which is not correct...
Every country fascilitates other country for its own interests..and to continue the relationship India has not anything significant...Take the example of trade barriers...Bangladesh is demanding for removal of some tariffs in Garment sector...i know that it is a difficult decison but again if we compare the trade imbalance of $500 mill to $ around 4-5 billion...i feel India should not think at all....Let us grant the access.....these are the basic things ...
Every country has some group of people who will oppose and support Indian nation...India failed to support the people who are friends of Indian people with adequate economic and foreign policy strategy...the result is slowly visible now...This is a systematic failure of indian foreign policy since Indira Gandhi.....we have to admit it....