Bangladesh-Bhutan 9th Commerce Secretary level meeting held

The 9th Commerce Secretary level meeting between Bangladesh and Bhutan was held on April 24 and 25 in Thimpu, Bhutan. In the meeting, the Bangladesh delegation was led by Senior Secretary of the Ministry of Commerce, Tapan Kanti Ghosh, and the Bhutanese delegation was led by Bhutan’s Secretary of Industry, Trade and Employment, Tashi Wangmo.

Ambassadors of the two countries participated in the delegation consisting of representatives of the respective ministries of both the countries.

This information was informed in a circular sent by the Ministry of Commerce on Friday (April 26).

In the opening speech of the meeting, the commerce secretaries of both countries expressed their satisfaction with the excellent relations existing between the two countries and expressed hope that this trend will continue in the future.

In the meeting, both sides discussed various issues of mutual interest. In particular, it is agreed on mutual cooperation in the areas of reduction of tariff and non-tariff barriers and expansion of export facilities, investment, transit and communication, power and energy cooperation, tourism, elimination of existing challenges in customs and land ports to increase trade. The senior secretary of the Ministry of Commerce urged Bhutan to take necessary measures to rejoin the BBIN MVA framework with a view to facilitating trade and commerce by increasing regional connectivity with neighboring countries. In response, Bhutan assured to consider the matter positively.

In the 9th Commerce Secretary level meeting, various relevant issues were discussed to further strengthen Bangladesh-Bhutan trade and economic cooperation. Both the Commerce Secretaries expressed satisfaction over the significant increase in the volume of trade between the two countries as a result of the execution of the Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA) and both sides agreed to include additional products under the existing Bangladesh-Bhutan Preferential Trade Agreement.

In the meeting, Bangladesh and Bhutan agreed to conduct trial runs for the implementation of the Traffic in Transit Agreement and its Protocols. Both sides have agreed to sign a Customs Mutual Assistance Agreement (CMAA) within a short period of time to exchange information and reports related to customs of Bangladesh and Bhutan and to enhance mutual experience and cooperation in capacity building of customs officials of both countries.

Both the secretaries discussed the decisions taken during the visit of the King of Bhutan to Bangladesh last month and emphasized on speedy implementation of the MoUs/Agreements signed during the visit.

MM/SSH