Dhaka, Delhi to ink deal on border <i>haats </i>
Bangladesh and India are going to sign an agreement to set up border haats, a traditional commodity market, as a business delegation leaves here for New Delhi today, officials said.
Apart from the agreement on border haats, a number of deals related to trade and investment would be signed to boost local trade in border areas of the two countries.
"A number of Memorandums of Understanding would be signed with neighboring India during the visit," said Commerce Minister Lt Col (retd) Faruk Khan, who will lead the delegation.
The 21-member delegation will include trade body leaders and senior government officials.
Faruk Khan said duty-free access of 61 products; entry of Bangladesh's trucks into India and trade with its northeastern states will dominate the discussions during the four-day visit.
"I always say business with India is very important for Bangladesh and we are trying hard to increase the trade" he said expressing the hope that the visit would help grow the business between the two neighboring countries.
Commerce Secretary Ghulam Hossain described the anticipated border trade as experimental and said that the border haats would be continued on successful operation.
The Indian part of the two border haats will be in the Meghalaya state while the Bangladesh part will be set up in Sunamganj and Kurigram districts.
The trading will be held once a week in two frontier locations and an individual will not be able to trade above US $50 at the border haats.
The trading would be conducted in currencies of the two nations.
Farm and home made items produced within 10km radius of border haats will be traded at the markets to be set up within five kilometers of the frontier, according to the final draft of the agreement.
The commodities to be traded in these haats including locally produced agriculture and horticulture products, spices, minor forest products excluding timber, fresh and dry fish, dairy, fishery and poultry products, cottage industries items, wooden furniture and cane goods, handloom and handicraft items.
The two countries had agreed to set up border haats along with their international border in the northeast when Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina visited India in January this year.
India is Bangladesh's single largest trading partner. Bangladesh's imports from India in 2009-10 were nearly $4 billion against its exports of only $330 million. The trade deficit stood at $3.6 billion.
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