Interactive Meeting With H E Air Vice Marshal (Retd) Altaf Hossian Choudhary, Hon'ble Commerce Minister of Bangladesh
November 17, 2004, New Delhi

Address By Shri Kamal Nath, Hon'ble Minister of Commerce and Industry, Government of India

Your Excellency, Air Vice Marshal Altaf Hossain Choudhary, Hon'ble Commerce Minister of Bangladesh, distinguished delegates - brothers - from Bangladesh, and colleagues from India:

On behalf of the Government of India, I feel greatly honoured in extending a hearty welcome to all of you. The presence of the Leaders of Business and Captains of Industry of our two countries here today is symbolic of our vibrant partnership. This also reflects the importance which our two countries attach to enhancing our economic and commercial co-operation in a wide spectrum of activities. This is our shared vision enhancing our relationship in the third millennium.

It is imperative for us to widen the scope and deepen the content of our engagement. The business communities of India and Bangladesh should engage in intensive discussions on several fronts which are crucial for the development of our economies. I am confident that such discussions would add substantially to what has already been accomplished in our bilateral trade and commerce. Our partnership has to strive for long-term goals. This valuable relationship between us has been forged by fundamental cultural and social affinities and people-to-people empathy existing between our countries, and we must endeavour, to nurture it, and build upon it.

We are here today to carry forward this bilateral agenda on economic and commercial co-operation. India attaches special importance to the relationship with Bangladesh; so much so, that we are determined and committed to create a just and equitable partnership for peace, development and prosperity. We are conscious of the fact that the limited tariff concessions achieved so far under SAPTA, both in terms of scope and depth have not resulted in boosting trade in this region to the expected levels. We hope that this will soon be remedied during the forthcoming SAARC Economic Ministers' Meeting in Islamabad next week. While we shall make every effort to take forward the SAFTA process and bring it to early fruition, we wish to enhance our engagement with Bangladesh, and give it momentum.

Regional integration has its own logic and pace. It is for this reason that we have chosen to engage with Bangladesh not only within the SAARC Framework but also within the BIMST-EC context, which binds all countries located on the rim of the Bay of Bengal. It is India's endeavour to make BIMST-EC a resounding success. As the two countries with the largest human resources in BIMST-EC, it becomes the responsibility of Bangladesh and India to jointly spur this Bay of Bengal Grouping on to further success.

The Indian economy is growing from strength to strength, and we are confident that it will continue to grow at sustained rates with all round socio-economic development. A decade ago India adopted wide-ranging economic reforms and our efforts have already yielded positive results. We continue on this path. India is today an economically vibrant nation with positive signs in all the sectors. Over the years, we have in fact built a firm foundation and today we are one of the fastest growing economies in the world, with the manufacturing strengths in basic engineering as well as consumer goods. Services is the new area of our international prowess. India wishes to share these strengths with Bangladesh in a solid partnership.

The present level of bilateral trade between Bangladesh and India is about 2 billion dollars. This is certainly not commensurate with the potential that exists. In my opinion, given the complementarities of our economies and the geographical juxtaposition that nature has gifted us, the actual level of trade should be many times more, higher by an order of magnitude. In a couple of years we can easily reach 5 billion dollars if we really set our sights on it with single-minded devotion.

I recognize that there is a sizeable imbalance in our bilateral trade, and I am sensitive to Bangladesh's concerns in this regard. A negative balance of trade is not in itself a bad thing. It is indicative of the growing demands of an emerging economy. Still, I do realize Bangladesh's anxiety to increase its exports to India, and I welcome it. You may rest assured that India would be very happy for Bangladesh to take greater advantage of the large Indian market and make full use of concessions that become available either under SAFTA or BIMST-EC.

I understand that there is some concern regarding what is seen by some as non-tariff barriers to trade between Bangladesh & India. Let me assure you that India has all along been fully committed to the two fundamental principles of MFN treatment and national treatment. We are - and shall continue to - address any identified non-tariff barrier in the spirit of maintaining and furthering our trade and commerce relations. There are other issues relating to mandatory standards requirements and testing requirements. These too will be addressed appropriately on receipt of required response from Bangladesh authorities and I assure you that our decisions in these matters will be in the mutual interest of each other. Even if, after this clarification, concerns still persist, we would be happy to organize discussions between our experts in order to resolve the perceived problems and find solutions. Between friends and neighbours there should be co-operation, not confrontation.

One of the constraints for the rapid growth of trade in north-eastern region of India is access to transport of cargo through land routes in the territory of each other's country. Land route access will make the direct trade between the two countries most economical and viable as this region is blessed with direct road and rail links which are usable around the year. Therefore, we must look into the issues relating to access, and to multi-modal transport in the region. Connectivity is central to modern business. This calls for co-operation in identified areas and fully exploiting the immense potential.

Phulbari in India is a Land Custom Station on the India-Bangladesh border, presently notified for transit trade between Bangladesh and Nepal / Bhutan only. It is situated at a strategically important intersection point having connectivity between the North Eastern States and Kolkata. There is a truck terminus with provision for accommodating nearly 250 trucks at a time. Enough space is available at the office premises for further development of infrastructural facilities. Basic telephone services and banking facilities are also available at this station. Trade between India and Bangladesh has also now been permitted through this land custom station. The requirement of further infrastructure and other facilities are being worked out.

There are several creative initiatives that can be taken. More than anyone else, it is the business delegates from both countries who will best be able to give these suggestions in the interaction that we are to have. Excellency, I look forward to substantive and fruitful discussions always and I sincerely hope that we can move forward in addressing some of the major trade issues during our future discussions.

Thank you.