Visiting Indian External Affairs Minister S Jaishangkar on Thursday said that Bangladesh and India are in talks about signing the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA).
The issue is under discussion between the officials of both sides, Mr Jaishangkar told a briefing after his meeting with Bangladesh Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen in the afternoon at the Foreign Service Academy.
According to reports, the CEPA with Bangladesh is one of the agreements that India is prioritising and the two sides had agreed to enhance trade through the removal of non-tariff barriers, need for predictability of trade policies, regulations and procedures under the agreement.
India and Bangladesh started the process of negotiations for CEPA to deepen trade and economic ties recently when a high-level team from Bangladesh visited India. They discussed the recommendations made by a Joint Study Group (JSG) for examining the feasibility of the CEPA.
He also pointed out that the bilateral trade, Indian investment and assistance to infrastructure projects regain the momentum, lost during the Covid.
The projects in power, energy and connectivity sectors, which are being funded by India in Bangladesh will be commissioned soon, the Indian Minister hoped.
About his meeting with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, the Indian minister said that they had discussed bilateral, regional and global issues.
He also informed that he conveyed Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s invitation to Hasina to visit India.
Bangladesh Prime Minister accepted the invitation and said that she would make the visit at a convenient time, Mr Jaishangkar informed.
Jaishangkar also pointed out that being the largest producer and consumer of energy in the region, it can provide help to its neighbours in improving energy security.
He also stressed the need for strengthening regional connectivity and expressed satisfaction that the bilateral connectivity between India and Bangladesh has significantly improved in recent years.
In this connection he also mentioned that a new train will run between the two countries soon.
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