BFTI holds 3rd consultation meeting on CEPA feasibility study

The Bangladesh Foreign Trade Institute (BFTI) on Sunday held the 3rd stakeholder consultation meeting of the joint study on a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) between Bangladesh and India.

The meeting was held in person, while some participated in the event virtually, said a press release.

Commerce Secretary Tapan Kanti Ghosh took part at the meeting as chief guest and discussed different aspects of the potential agreement.

Md Jafar Uddin, chief executive officer (CEO) at the BFTI, chaired the event and emphasized that an effective CEPA between the two countries will not only benefit both the countries in terms of enhanced employment generation and export earnings but also help Bangladesh identify its untapped potential for export to India.

Md Obaidul Azam, director of the BFTI has moderated the programme, the release reads.

The BFTI officials urged the commerce ministry to include a joint testing laboratory, one-stop services for the investors in the proposed agreement between Bangladesh and India.

Dr Selim Raihan, lead consultant of the CEPA joint feasibility study, Mahtab Uddin, its sectoral consultant, AHM Ahasan, vice-chairman of the Export Promotion Bureau (EPB), Md Hafizur Rahman, additional secretary at the commerce ministry, Md Hafizur Rahman, director-general of WTO Cell at MoC, Md Khairuzzaman Mozumder, additional secretary at the finance ministry, and other stakeholders from the public and private sectors, business leaders, academicians participated at the event.

All the stakeholders were optimistic that the proposed CEPA agreement would ease trade barriers and enhance trade volume.

The Centre for Regional Trade (CRT) under the Indian Institute of Foreign Trade (IIFT) conducts the joint study on behalf of the Indian government, the release added.