Ten issues to discus in Burma-Bangladesh JTC meeting

Saturday, 04 September 2010 11:05 -

By Tin Soe

Chittagong, Bangladesh: Bangladesh wants to discus ten major issues during the two-day
Burma-Bangladesh fourth Joint Trade Commission (JTC) meeting to be held in Dhaka on
September 22, according to a high official in the Ministry of Commerce (MoC).

MD Ghulam Hussain and Aung Tun, Commerce Secretaries of Bangladesh and Burma
respectively, will lead their delegations at the meeting where Bangladesh has high officials from
the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA), the National Board of Revenue (NBR) and the Ministry of
Communication and Energy, the official said.

The ten major issues are: establishing a direct air link between Dhaka and Rangoon;
establishing a direct road link between Burma and Bangladesh; eliminating problems relating to
business visas; introducing direct letter of credit (L/C); establishing a hydroelectric plant in
Arakan State, Burma; fertiliser buy-back; border trade; repatriation of Myanmar refugees;
demarcation of land boundaries; delimitation of maritime boundaries; coastal shipping link;
cooperation in tourism; border fencing; issuance of border passes and cooperation in
agricultural sector, the source said.

Dhaka is expected to attach the highest importance to the issue of the hydro-power plant as the
country is in dire need of electricity, sources said.

The road link is not only for Burma and Bangladesh, but also for many regional countries, an
official in the Ministry of Communication (MoC) said.

Dhaka's prime agenda at the meeting will be to request Rangoon to increase imports from
Bangladesh. Currently, exporters and importers of both the countries face problems due to the
absence of direct L/C opening opportunities between banks of the two countries. Since
Myanmar is not member of International Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the country
follows strict foreign exchange related regulations, trade officials said.

"We will raise the Letter of Credit issue seriously,” a top MoC official said.

Also on the agenda of the meeting will be the problems of business visas issued from the
Burmese Embassy in Dhaka. Bangladeshi businessmen only get a 14 day visa, and that only
allows them to travel to the bordering Arakan State of Burma. Moreover, with one single entry in
the border pass, they are not allowed to move beyond Maungdaw.

Bilateral trade between the two neighbouring countries has been taking place under the General
Trade Agreement and Border Trade Agreement signed in 1973 and 1994 respectively. Trade
between the two countries takes place mostly under the provisions of border trade
arrangements. The two-way trade volume is very low and the balance is tilted towards Burma.

Dhaka exported goods and commodities worth only $9.17million to Yangon in 2008-09 while its

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Ten issues to discus in Burma-Bangladesh JTC meeting
Saturday, 04 September 2010 11:05 -

imports during the same period stood at $66.65 million.

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