Bangladesh and Eurasian Economic Commission (EEC) have agreed to establish a working group to develop identified 19 sectors to boost trade and economic cooperation between Bangladesh and the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) countries.
Commerce Minister Tipu Munshi and EEC Board member Tatiana Valovaya signed the deal titled ‘Memorandum of Cooperation between the Eurasian Economic Commission and the Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh’ in this regard at the EEC headquarters in Moscow on May 31, reports BSS.
The EEC is the executive body of the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU), formed on January 1, 2015 with five countries from the Eastern Europe and Central Asia namely Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Armenia and Kyrgyzstan.
Currently, the EEU is a market of 183 million people and has a land area of 20 million square kilometres.
After signing of the Memorandum of Cooperation (MoC), the commerce minister hoped that this deal would increase the volume of exports to Russian market alongside boosting the economic cooperation, said a ministry press release recently.
Previously part of the now-defunct Soviet Union, these countries are now members of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). The EAEU’s activities are regulated by Eurasian Economic Commission (EEC) like the European Union (EU).
There is no customs border among the EAEU countries since Customs Union has been formed among the member countries. As a result, goods can be transported from one country to another without any barrier and duty.
Officials of the Ministry said this MoC would help Bangladesh expand its export market in the EEU member countries and have duty and quota free access to these EEU countries including Russia.
Under this Memorandum of Cooperation, a working group would be established to mainly work for the development of the identified 19 sectors to boost trade and economic cooperation between Bangladesh and the EEU countries.
The release said the commerce minister also held meetings with Russian Federation of Chamber and Commerce and Industry President and Bangladesh Businessmen’s Association.
The meetings discussed the export potentials of Bangladeshi products to Russia and the way forward.