Bangladesh-India joint venture to benefit both in COVID-19: FBCCI

Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industries (FBCCI) president Sheikh Fazle Fahim has said job creation and investments through joint venture of Bangladesh and India is the best way to benefit both the nations to stimulate the economy amid the novel coronavirus realities.

“At this juncture, our bilateral trade stands at about US$ 9 billion,” he said while addressing a webinar titled “India-Bangladesh Trade and Investment: Stakeholders Interaction,” organised by Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industries (FICCI) on Monday.

High Commissioner of India in Bangladesh Riva Ganguly Das was present as the key note speaker at the webinar, reports news agency BSS.

Fahim said exploring and executing out of the box initiatives for light engineering, a value chain initiative with raw materials from India and produced in Bangladesh, will be another complimentary initiative in a long list of humane cooperation between the two nations.

If revised provision on deferred payments is worked out, it will assist greater export of backward linkage products from India to Bangladesh and exports to India and beyond through bilateral value chain initiatives targeted towards global markets, he said.

The FBCCI president requested Indian stakeholders to consider extending the deferred LC payment facilities from Indian Banks for 240 days from the bill of lading for Bangladeshi business purchases.

Riva Ganguly Das said, “Indian railway and Bangladesh railways are working together which shows how committed they are to provide smooth logistics.”

She also said India is dedicated to take the regional cooperation forward.

She praised several other speakers’ ideas on remote deduction of duty on passenger and commercial vehicles.

The India-Bangladesh Chamber of Commerce and Industry (IBCCI) president Abdul Matlub Ahmad, among others, also participated in the webinar.