Commerce Adviser Sk Bashir Uddin on Saturday met visiting prime minister of Bhutan Dasho Tshering Tobgay, focusing on strengthening bilateral ties and boosting trade and investment cooperation between the two countries.
The meeting was held at a hotel in Dhaka.
During the meeting, both sides exchanged views on deepening economic collaboration, enhancing bilateral trade flows, and exploring new avenues of investment, said a press release.聽
Tshering Tobgay described Bangladesh鈥揃hutan relations as 鈥榚xcellent鈥�, noting that expanding trade would add a new dimension to the existing friendly ties.
Bangladesh is the only country with which Bhutan has a Preferential Trade Agreement, he recalled and expressed his government鈥檚 interest in moving towards a Free Trade Agreement to further expand bilateral trade with Bangladesh.
The Bhutanese premier thanked the Bangladesh government for allocating a special economic zone in Kurigram exclusively for Bhutan.
He said that a number of preparatory activities had already started at the site.
Highlighting Bhutan鈥檚 plans to build the biodiversity city of Gelephu, he said that the proposed city aimed to protect the country鈥檚 rich natural biodiversity while developing modern and sustainable infrastructure.
As large volumes of construction materials will be required for the Gelephu project, he expressed Bhutan鈥檚 interest in importing such materials from Bangladesh.
He also mentioned Bhutan鈥檚 growing demand for Bangladeshi pharmaceuticals, ceramic products, readymade garments and electronic items and expressed keen interest in expanding imports in these sectors.
Inviting Bangladeshi tourists to visit Bhutan, the prime minister said that while the sustainable development fee for tourists from most countries is set at $100 per night, Bhutan has fixed the fee at only$15 for tourists from Bangladesh and other South Asian nations.
He urged the Bangladesh government to take initiatives to encourage more Bangladeshi travellers to visit Bhutan.
Sk Bashir Uddin expressed gratitude to Bhutan for being the first country to recognise Bangladesh after its independence, noting that enhanced trade cooperation would further strengthen bilateral ties.
On the proposed FTA, the adviser said that the matter would be taken up with due importance at the upcoming Bangladesh鈥揃hutan secretary-level meeting.
He also stressed increased business-to-business visits and experience-sharing between the businesses of the two countries.
The adviser highlighted that Bangladesh now manufactured world-class pharmaceuticals, ceramics, readymade garments and construction materials.
He encouraged Bhutan to take advantage of these sectors through importing such items from Bangladesh to expand bilateral trade.
Bhutanese foreign affairs and external trade minister DN Dhungyel; industry, commerce and employment minister Lyonpo Namgyal Dorji; and Bangladesh commerce secretary Mahbubur Rahman were also present at the meeting.
