Bangladesh, Thailand agree on increasing bilateral trade

BANGKOK, November 3 (TNA) - Bangladesh and Thailand have agreed to increase bilateral trade to almost double next year. The agreement was reached in Bangkok on November 2 during bilateral talks between Bangladeshi Commerce Minister Tofail Ahmed, who is on a three-day visit to Thailand, and his Thai counterpart Apiradi Tantraporn. Apiradi told journalists after the meeting that her ministry will lead the Thai private sector to organise a Thai goods exhibition and hold business talks, designed for raising two-way trade value between Bangladesh and Thailand to 1.7 billion US dollars by 2016, as agreed. Apiradi said bilateral trade between Bangladesh and Thailand stands about 981 million US dollars a year presently, with Thailand mostly enjoying a trade surplus over Bangladesh. According to the commerce minister, Thailand hopes to export consumer products to third countries via Bangladesh to enjoy duty-free in the South Asian nation. The Thai commerce minister revealed that she also asked Bangladesh to consider extending a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on buying parboiled rice from Thailand for another three years, after its expiry by February 2016. The Thai commerce minister acknowledged that she also proposed that Bangladesh consider buying other types of Thai rice, while the Thai government will consider reducing import duty for Bangladesh’s gunny bags in exchange. The Thai commerce minister also informed her visiting Bangladeshi counterpart that the Thai government will attend the 4th Joint Trade Committee (JTC) of Bangladesh and Thailand, set to be held in Dhaka, Bangladesh's capital, early next year. Monday's meeting between the Bangladeshi and the Thai commerce ministers was on the sidelines of the 12th Conference of the Asia Pacific Business Forum, organised by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and Pacific (UNESCAP). (TNA)