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IBCCI India-Bangladesh Chamber of Commerce & Industry

IBCCI Newsletter 1

From the President’s DeskThe bilateral economic relation between Bangladesh and India has been growing from strength under the visionary leaderships of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and Prime Minister Narendra Modi in spite of occasional pin pricks. We are amply sure it will get further impetus in the coming years in the backdrop of strong political will on both sides.

As mandated IBCCI has been doing its bit towards furtherance of economic relations between the two friendly South Asian neighbours.

To this end recently IBCCI actively participated in the following events both in India and Bangladesh – (1) Indo-Bangla Buyer-Seller meet in Dhaka on fruits, vegetables, potato, cereals, rice, spices, meat, poultry, and processed food organised jointly with Indian Chamber of Commerce (2) CUTS International’s dialogue in Dhaka on “Reduction of NTBs in Agricultural Trade between India and Bangladesh (3) Express Courier Dual Trial Run Joint Tuskforce Meeting in Kolkata organised by CII, BUILD and the World Bank (4) 12th Sustainability Summit of CII in Delhi on the theme “2030 Agenda : Driving Inclusive Growth” encompassing; Agriculture, Climate Change, Clean Energy/Water, Mining, Business Ethics, E-commerce, and Health concerns (5) North-East Connectivity Summit organised by Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI) in Kohima, Nagaland.

I ns ideIndia & Bangladesh to craft report on borders as prosperity zone 3

Bangladesh’s economic growth beats ADB forecast 4

Economic indicators rose in 2016 5

Bilateral economic cooperation with India 6

Dhaka, Delhi to explore potentials in bilateral ties : Shringla 8

Bangladesh’s July-May FDI inflow ticks up 9

India-Bangladesh Buyer-Seller Business Meet 10

Express Courier Dual Trial Run Joint Taskforce Meeting 11

12th Sustainability Summit of CII 12

India removes entry, exit bars on Bangladesh nationals’ visas 12

Volume: 35 / Issue: 35 / September 2017

GUWAHATI: The eighth round of Bangladesh-India friendship dialogue held in Guwahati has proposed to prepare a research report on borders as prosperity zone.

After three days of dialogue which started on July 2, in Guwahati, the eighth dialogue also assessed the possibilities and modalities for designing sustainable and forward looking mechanism in joint finance and services and has outlined a security and economy vision of South Asia for 2030-which is built on a platform of innovation and entrepreneurship. “Preparing a research report on Northeast India and Bangladesh: Borders as prosperity zones and organising an India Bangladesh

India and Bangladesh to prepare a research report on borders as prosperity zone

The eighth dialogue is now convinced that the progress made by the two countries over last seven years and in particular with the visit of Prime minister Narendra Modi to Bangladesh in 2015 and the visit of Prime minister Sheikh Hasina to India in 2017

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business summit are action agendas that have been suggested in the talks.” The declaration announced.

The Guwahati declaration stated, “The eighth dialogue is now convinced that the progress made by the two countries over last seven years and in particular with the visit of Prime minister Narendra Modi to Bangladesh in 2015 and the visit of Prime minister Sheikh Hasina to India in 2017 ought to continue in stronger strides and deserves stronger institutional attention from relevant ministries and agencies of the two governments.”

The interaction has carefully assessed the impact of the

changing world order on peace, stability and prosperity of South Asia in particular of India and Bangladesh.

“It has re-assessed and measured progress in the areas discussed in the sixth and seventh rounds, particularly in managing peaceful and prosperous international borders and security, water security and joint basin management, energy security and crossborder generation and trade in power, connectivity and integrated multimodal communication-with special emphasis on utilising inland waterways,” the declaration stated. (Courtesy: The Economic Times, India, dated July 04, 2017)

India & Bangladesh to craft report on borders as prosperity zoneThe eighth round of Bangladesh-India friendship dialogue held in Guwahati has proposed to prepare a research report on borders as prosperity zone.

After three days of dialogue which started on July 02, in Guwahati, the eighth dialogue also assessed the possibilities and modalities for designing sustainable and forward looking mechanism in joint finance and services and has outlined a security and economy vision of South Asia for 2030 -- which is built on a platform of innovation and entrepreneurship.

“Preparing a research report on Northeast India and Bangladesh, Borders as prosperity zones and organising an India Bangladesh business summit are action agendas that have been suggested at the talks.” The declaration announced, according to reports by BSS and indiatimes.com.

The Guwahati declaration stated, “The eighth dialogue is now convinced that the progress made by the two countries over last seven years and in particular with the visit of Prime minister Narendra Modi to Bangladesh in 2015 and the visit of Prime minister Sheikh Hasina to India in 2017 ought to continue in stronger strides and deserves stronger institutional attention from relevant ministries and agencies of the two governments.”

The interaction has carefully assessed the impact of the changing world order on peace, stability and prosperity of South Asia in particular of India and Bangladesh.

“It has re-assessed and measured progress in the areas discussed in the sixth and seventh rounds, particularly in managing peaceful and prosperous international borders and security, water security and joint basin management, energy security and cross border generation and trade in power, connectivity and integrated multimodal communication-with special emphasis on utilising inland waterways,” the declaration stated.

The dialogue will reconvene in Cox Bazar, Bangladesh towards the beginning of 2018 for its ninth round.

“With an aim to ensure sustainable political goodwill

and trust, economic growth and shared prosperity of the peoples of India and Bangladesh, the eighth iteration declares its conviction that ensuring greater people-to-people and business-to-business contacts between the Northeastern Region of India and Bangladesh is crucial,” it said.

The Eighth iteration suggested a security and economic vision of South Asia for 2030 -- which is built on a platform of innovation and entrepreneurship as it assessed the possibilities and modalities for designing sustainable and forward-looking mechanisms in joint finance and promotion of both innovative and high-end value-added products and services.

It also re-assessed and measured progress in the areas discussed in the sixth and seventh rounds, particularly in managing peaceful and prosperous international borders and security; water and energy security, connectivity with special emphasis on utilising inland waterways, sub-regional and regional development and utilisation of mega-architectures.

The Eighth round of India Bangladesh Friendship Dialogue also observed that “Bangladesh and India share a special bond, which is generic, granular and unbroken, by sovereign boundaries of Post-Westphalian Republics”.

“The bond is civilisational and is sanctified by the blood of those martyrs who fought together for the glorious independence of Bangladesh in 1971,” it added.

The Eighth iteration suggested a security and economic vision of South Asia for 2030 -- which is built on a platform of innovation and entrepreneurship as it assessed the possibilities and modalities for designing sustainable and forward-looking mechanisms in joint finance and promotion of both innovative and high-end value-added products and services.

It also re-assessed and measured progress in the areas discussed in the sixth and seventh rounds, particularly in managing peaceful and prosperous international borders and security; water and energy security, connectivity with special emphasis on utilising inland

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waterways, sub-regional and regional development and utilisation of mega-architectures.

The Eighth round of India Bangladesh Friendship Dialogue also observed that “Bangladesh and India share a special bond, which is generic, granular and

unbroken, by sovereign boundaries of Post-Westphalian Republics”.

“The bond is civilisational and is sanctified by the blood of those martyrs who fought together for the glorious independence of Bangladesh in 1971,” it added. (Courtesy: The Financial Express, dated July 06, 2017)

Bangladesh’s economic growth beats ADB forecastGrowths in agriculture, services sectors outperform expectations, says ADB

Bangladesh’s economic growth for the fiscal year (FY) 2016-17, as estimated by the government, beat the Asian Development Bank’s (ADB) forecasts, the Manila-based multilateral lender has said.

The Bangladesh government has estimated the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) growth to be 7.24 per cent for the FY’17 while it was project at 6.9 per cent in the Asian Development Outlook (ADO) 2017.

In a supplement to its ADO report, published in July 2017, the ADB has said agriculture growth in Bangladesh in FY2017 was higher than anticipated.

Services growth also outperformed expectations, supported by agriculture growth and solid performances in wholesale and retail trade, real estate, hotels and restaurants, and transport, said the report.

According to the latest ADO supplement, economic growth prospects in developing Asia for 2017 have improved on the back of stronger-than-expected export demand in the first quarter of this year.

The ADB also upgraded its growth outlook in the region from 5.7 per cent to 5.9 per cent in 2017 and from 5.7 per cent to 5.8 per cent for 2018.

The smaller uptick in the 2018 rate reflected a cautious view on the sustainability of this export push, said the ADB.

“Developing Asia is off to a good start this year with improved exports pushing growth prospects for the rest of 2017,” the report said, quoting ADB’s Chief Economist Yasuyuki Sawada.

“Despite lingering uncertainties surrounding the strength of the global recovery, we feel that the region’s economies are well-placed to face potential shocks to the

outlook,” the ADB chief economist was quoted as saying.

Combined growth for the major industrial economies in the region is forecast to remain at 1.9 per cent in 2017 and 2018, it said.

Improved forecasts for the euro area and Japan due to robust domestic demand have offset the slight growth

downturn in the US to 2.2 per cent from the previously projected 2.4 per cent as a result of disappointing first quarter results in 2017, it mentioned.

By sub-region, growth for East Asia is revised upward to 6.0 per cent in 2017 and 5.7 per cent in 2018 from the original projections of 5.8 per cent and 5.6 per cent respectively, according to the ADO supplement.

After recent growth moderation, an increase in net exports and domestic consumption has improved growth prospects for China, it said, adding the world’s second largest economy was now expected to expand by 6.7 per cent in 2017 and 6.4 per cent in 2018.

South Asia will remain the fastest growing of all sub-regions in Asia and the Pacific, with growth on track to meet original projections of 7.0 per cent in 2017 and 7.2 per cent in 2018, according to the report.

India - the subregion’s largest economy - is expected to achieve previous growth projections of 7.4 per cent in 2017 and 7.6 per cent in 2018, primarily from strong consumption, the report said.

Growth projections for Southeast Asia are expected to remain at 4.8 per cent in 2017 and 5.0 per cent in 2018, with accelerating growth for Malaysia, the Philippines, and Singapore, although this trend is slightly dampened by the slower-than-anticipated expansion in Brunei Darussalam, said the ADO report.

Robust domestic demand - particularly private consumption and investment - will continue to support growth in the sub-region, according to the report.

The outlook for Central Asia this year has also improved as stronger domestic demand and exports in some countries have fueled an unexpected recovery in the sub-region, it said. The growth is expected to reach 3.2 per cent in 2017 and 3.8 per cent in 2018 compared to the 3.1 per cent and 3.5 per cent original projections, respectively, it said.

Growth in the Pacific is expected to remain at 2.9 per cent in 2017 and 3.3 per cent in 2018 with Papua New Guinea - the sub-region’s largest economy - continuing its gradual recovery due to rebounding mining and agriculture industries, it said.

Stronger tourism prospects are also expected to drive growth further in the sub-region, particularly in Fiji and Palau, according to the report. (Courtesy: The Financial Express dated July 21, 2017)

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Economic indicators rose in 2016

Delhi approves Bangladesh - India investment agreements

Bangladesh entered the New Year riding of success in all fields of economy development which have made the country a role model for other South Asian countries.

The country is set to break out of LDC category in 2018 and become a developed country by 2024 thanks to sustain GDP growth around 7 percent, higher exports (mostly readymade garments) and remittances from Bangladeshis working abroad, mostly in the Middles East, Gulf and Malaysia.

Bangladesh attracted over $2 billion foreign investment in 2015-16 (July-June) fiscal year and achieve highest foreign exchange reserves at $32 billion. The country has established more than 100 economic zones to lure investors from all around the globe and generate huge employment in the country. Over 7 lakh Bangladeshis went out on overseas employment in 2016 alone, according to sources in the Expatriate Welfare Ministry.

Bangladesh’s readymade garments sectors has withstood challenged from other regional exporters including China, Vietnam, Pakistan, India and Sri Lanka despite suffering from order loss and restricted buying over international criticism for repeated industrial accidents claiming around 1500 lives in recent years. Besides, workplace safety is also a critical issue in Bangladesh.

As the government tries to address all these issues both business and economic indicators area rising, officials said. Bangladesh and China last year initialled 27 agreements and MOUs opening doors for huge local and foreign investment in the country.

In the backdrop of significant economic advancement, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is now attending the

World Economic Forum (WEF) summit in Davis, Switzerland - the first by any Bangladesh premier.

Poverty level has been reduced to less than half at 23 per cent.United Nation Conference on Trade and Development Organization (UNCTAD) in its 2016 report said Bangladesh would come out of LDC (Least Developed Country) list in 2018. It is already a lower middle-income country and become a middle income country by 2021 and a developed country in five years from then.By 2024 Bangladesh is going to be one of 16 countries who will get Developed country Certificate, one official said.

Electricity production was 4000 megawatt (MW) in 2010 which has now increased to 15000 MW. Annual per capita income has soared to $1465 last year from $559 in 2006. Export earnings have risen to $34 billion now from $11 billion in 2006, the official said. Bangladesh is now striving to raise the annual export income to $50 billion in 2021.

Bangladesh’s current forex reserves are $32 billion, the highest so far. Bangladesh made no payment for Asian Clearing House (ACH) import bill last year which helped the spike in forex reserves. It was first time Bangladesh was spared from paying ACH bill.

Inflation came down to 5.38 per cent in November 2016. National Board of Revenue (NBR) collected Tk 154784 crore as revenue in 2016 against target of Tk176370 . The 2016-17 FY revenue target is Tk 203152 crore, NBR sources said.Export earning in the first five months of the current fiscal year was $US 1369 crore compared to $1288 crore in the corresponding period of last year. (Courtesy: Daily Observer dated January 18, 2017)

India on 11th July approved agreement signed between New Delhi and Dhaka for the promotion and protection of investments between the two countries.

Indian news agency IANS in a dispatch from New Delhi said: The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 12th July gave its approval to the Joint Interpretative Notes (JIN) on the agreement signed between India and Bangladesh for the promotion and protection of investments between the two countries.

The JIN would impart clarity to the interpretation of the existing agreement between India and Bangladesh for the Promotion and Protection of Investments (BIPA).

Joint Interpretative Statements play an important supplementary role in strengthening the investment treaty regime. With increasing Bilateral Investment Treaty (BIT) disputes, issuance of such statements was likely to have strong persuasive value before tribunals.

“Such pro-active approach can foster a more

predictable and coherent reading of treaty terms by arbitration tribunals,” an official statement said.

The JIN includes interpretative notes to be jointly adopted for many clauses, including, the definition of investor and investment, exclusion of taxation measures, Fair and Equitable Treatment (FET), National Treatment (NT) and Most Favoured Nation (MFN) treatment, expropriation, essential security interests and settlement of disputes between an investor and a contracting party, the statement said.

The cabinet was also apprised of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between India and Bangladesh on cyber security cooperation which was signed on April 8.

The MoU on Cyber Security was signed by Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In) under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology of India and the Bangladesh Government Computer

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Incident Response Team (BGD e-Gov CIRT), Bangladesh Computer Council of Information and Communication Technology Division under the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications and Information Technology of Bangladesh, an official statement said.

The MoU intends to promote cooperation between CERT-In and BGD e-Gov CIRT and includes exchange of information on cyber attacks and cyber security incidents, cyber security technology cooperation,

exchange cyber security policies and best practices and Human Resource Development in this field in accordance with the relevant laws and regulations of each country and on the basis of equality, reciprocity and mutual benefits.

The MoU between CERT-In and BGD e-Gov CIRT would be implemented through a duly set up Joint Committee on Cyber Security. (Courtesy: Daily Observer, dated July 13, 2017)

Prof. Selim Raihan

Bangladesh and India have long bonds in culture and history. Despite such bonds and neighbourly proximity, economic cooperation between the two countries has remained far below potential.

A number of studies have shown that bilateral trade and investment offer immense opportunities for accelerating growth and reducing poverty in both the countries. These studies suggest that India could become a major player for accelerating the growth of intra-industry trade and uplifting foreign direct investment (FDI) inflow to Bangladesh.

Also, for India, Bangladesh could become an additional source of trade as well as a critical destination for investment thus addressing many concerns relating to the economic isolation of its backward Eastern and North-Eastern states. Furthermore, better connectivity between Bangladesh and India through multi-modal transport and transit facilities will further enhance the strength of the economic relations between these two countries.

Although it experiences annual volatility, the overall trade between Bangladesh and India has increased over time, and the balance of trade has remained heavily in favour of India. Total exports from Bangladesh to India increased from US$ 50.2 million in 2001-02 to US$ 527.2 million in 2014-15 (which was only 0.1 per cent of India’s total import).

The share of Bangladesh’s exports to India in the country’s overall export increased from 0.3 per cent to around 1.5 per cent during the same period. On the other hand, India’s exports to Bangladesh increased from about US$ 1019 million in 2001-02 to US$ 5.8 billion in 2014-15 (around 2.0 per cent of India’s total export). At present, India is the second largest import source for Bangladesh. In 2014-15, the share of Bangladesh’s import from India was around 16 per cent of the country’s total import from the world.

Looking at the product details we find that in recent years Bangladesh’s exports to India (Figure 1) have been dominated by readymade garments (RMG) (HS code 6) and jute products (HS code 5). Bangladesh also exports products like textile articles, edible fruit

and nuts, salt, fish, inorganic chemicals, mineral fuels and raw hides and skins. In contrast, large parts of Bangladesh’s import from India have been raw materials and capital machineries (HS codes 5 and 8) (Figure 2) which are used in Bangladesh’s export-oriented and domestic industries.

At the product details, Bangladesh’s import from India for last decade were chiefly cotton, vehicles and parts and accessories, machinery, cereals, man-made staple fibres, iron and steel, electrical machinery, organic chemicals, tanning or dyeing extracts and plastics.

Though exports from Bangladesh were supposed to increase significantly as the Indian government offered Bangladesh duty-free benefit for all products except 25 alcoholic and beverage items since November 2012, exports did not increase much after 2012. A number of challenges can be made responsible for such weak export response which are related to Bangladesh’s limited export capacity, lack of diversification of export baskets, and various non-tariff measures (NTMs) and procedural obstacles (POs) due to inadequate infrastructure and lack of support facilities both at home and in the Indian market.

It is noteworthy that readymade garments (RMG) has become the major item in Bangladesh’s export to India on account of duty-free market access granted by India. In 2009-10, the share of RMG was more than 28 per cent in total export of Bangladesh to India, which rose to 34.3 per cent by 2014-15. However, studies have shown that there are many products in which Bangladesh has large export capacities, but actual exports to India are either very low or zero. For example, Figure 3 shows that though for products in the HS categories of 02, 16, 24, 41, 46, 64, 65 and 67, Bangladesh has either the full or significantly partial export capacities to meet India’s import demand, actual exports to India are zero. Similar observation also holds for Indian exports to Bangladesh.

Therefore, there is enormous scope for raising bilateral trade between the two countries. There is a need to explore carefully, how different NTMs

Bilateral economic cooperation with IndiaTapping on trade-investment nexus

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and POs and lack of trade facilitation affect such prospects. Necessary measures should be taken to improve the scenario. In order to address the trade infrastructural problems at the border, lately, there are some initiatives by the Government of India to set up Integrated Check Posts (ICPs) at major entry points on the land borders between Bangladesh and India. Two such ICPs have been launched recently, and they are expected to boost bilateral trade.

Bangladesh and India have to tap on the trade-investment nexus for improving their bilateral economic cooperation. The horizontal and vertical integration of Indian and Bangladeshi industries could help to improve scale of economies, especially for Bangladesh, and help Indian firms gain from the use of cheap labour in Bangladesh. However, in terms of sources of FDI (foreign direct investment) inflow in Bangladesh, the US, the UK, and South Korea top the list of countries, and FDI from India is still very low.

Lately, there have been a number of initiatives between Bangladesh and Indian governments to improve the investment situation. The Bangladesh Power Development Board and the Indian National Thermal Power Corporation have signed a memorandum of understanding in 2010 to set up two coal-fired power plants, each of which will have a capacity of 1,320MW, with partnership shared equally between them. Furthermore, recently, Bangladesh has offered India to establish two Special Economic Zones (SEZ) for Indian companies. Launching of these SEZs is expected to substantially increase Indian FDI into Bangladesh.

In 2015, Prime Ministers of India and Bangladesh contracted international gateway of internet service in Agartala and supply of 100MW power to Bangladesh from Tripura. India is already supplying 500 MW of power to Bangladesh, and supply of another 500 MW was also announced during Indian Prime Minister’s visit to Bangladesh in 2015. On the other hand, the bandwidth connection came as Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) and Bangladesh Submarine Cable Company Limited (BSCCL) signed an agreement for leasing of international bandwidth for Internet at Akhaura. As a result, Agartala has become third station connected to submarine cable for Internet bandwidth after Chennai and Mumbai. The internet bandwidth export to India from Bangladesh will enable reliable and fast Internet connectivity for

the people of Tripura as well as other parts of India’s northeastern region.

It is expected that the latest shipping arrangement between Bangladesh and India would make faster movement of goods between these two countries. Currently, such shipments are routed via Colombo or Singapore. Also, it takes around 20 days for a shipment by land. However, the direct shipping is expected to reduce the time to around seven days, as there is no longer a need for transshipment at Colombo.

The service will play a vital role in decongesting the border points and bringing down the cost and transit time involved. This improved arrangement of connectivity would bring better efficiency and thus provide the best competitive freight rates to the

advantage of the industries.

The aforementioned analyses point to the fact that there are heightened political commitments between the governments of Bangladesh and India to improve bilateral economic cooperation through different initiatives. Such initiatives need to be materialised at the earliest.

As for Bangladesh, to make the most out of such initiatives, there are a number of challenges though. The country needs to significantly improve the business environment for attracting FDI, as the latest World Bank’s ranking of the ease of doing business shows that Bangladesh’s position

dropped two steps to 174 out of 189 countries due to stalled regulatory reforms.

Finally, besides above-mentioned economic issues, there are some more bilateral issues between Bangladesh and India, which need to be resolved for enriching mutual trust and confidence for greater economic cooperation. For example, border killing is an issue that strains India-Bangladesh relations as the victims are often ordinary people of Bangladesh living in border areas.

This needs to stop, for which a political decision at the highest level is necessary. Also, the water-sharing issue between India and Bangladesh is yet to be solved properly, which undermines a lot of the developmental prospects. However, it can be hoped that these issues will be solved with the heightened commitment among political elites of the two countries for a deeper economic cooperation. (Courtesy: The Financial Express; Dated: 4th October, 2016)

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Dhaka, Delhi to explore potentials in bilateral ties : ShringlaIndia, a committed development partner of Bangladesh, extends its all-out supports to Bangladesh to achieve its vision to become a middle-income status by 2021 and a developed one by 2041, said Indian High Commissioner in Dhaka Harsh Vardhan Shringla on 18th July.

Speaking at the National Defence College and Armed Forces War College, Bangladesh the high commissioner said that the relationship between the two countries is at the high and on right track broadening ties in all prospective areas and tapping the potentials especially in the field of economy and development.

As testimony of this friendly relationship, India pledged US$ 5 billion concessional financing to Bangladesh in addition to the earlier $3 billion credit taking the total to US$ 8 billion, said the High Commissioner.

‘The synergies between the two countries in various areas are immense, and we’re fully committed to tapping that,’ Shringla said adding that the bilateral relationship between the two countries is being viewed as a model relationship between the two close neighbours.

He mentioned that the hallmark of the last visit of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and the recent engagement in co-operation in new high-technology are vital from a strategic and security point of view.

“These include co-operation in energy security, in space, cyber security and IT. These areas have a strong development dimension since the ultimate objective is to bring the benefits of mutual co-operation to the people,” he added.

Referring to India’s South Asia satellite launch, the diplomat said the satellite will offer multi-dimensional facilities including services in telecommunications and tele-medicine and better co-ordination in disaster management to participating nations including Bangladesh.

The Indian envoy also said a thrust area of co-operation between both the countries has been connectivity.

Mentioning Connectivity is part of India’s own neighbourhood first policy as well as critical for sub-regional co-operation and growth; and for development of both the countries, he further added, “We are working towards reviving all the railway links which were snapped in the 1965 War and we are also looking at new railway linkages.”

Shringla also said, during Prime Minister Hasina’s visit, the fourth railway link (of the erstwhile six railway linkages) between Radhikapur and Birol was inaugurated by the two Prime Ministers and by 2018, work on three more railway links will be completed.

“We are looking at new passenger train ‘Maitree

Express’ between Khulna and Kolkata with the trial run already completed and to make the existing Maitree express an end-to-end service significantly reducing journey time between Kolkata and Dhaka,” he continued.

The high commissioner also disclosed that a new bus service between Khulna and Kolkata has been launched in addition to the links between Kolkata-Dhaka-Agartala; and Dhaka-Shillong-Guwahati.

Noting that co-operation in power and energy sector has grown by leaps and bounds in the last few years, he said, “We are looking at a supply of close to 5000MW of power to Bangladesh through various kinds of co-operation both in the public and private sector. At present, 660 MW of power is already flowing from West Bengal and Tripura of India to Bangladesh, he further added.

The Indian diplomat continued saying, “We are looking at supply of LNG; gas grid interconnectivity between India and Jhenaidah-Khulna pipeline in Bangladesh; setting up an LPG import terminal by IOCL at Kutubdia; construction of LPG pipeline; and construction of a Friendship pipeline to supply gasoil from Siliguri to Parbatipur to be financed by grant-in-aid.”

Civil Nuclear energy is another key and emerging area of co-operation especially as Bangladesh is looking to diversify its energy mix and is constructing its first nulcear power plant at Rooppur, he continued.

Shringla also maintained that both the countries have also initiated discussions for joint investment in hydro-electricity and tripartite co-operation with Bhutan.

He also said India is looking to synergise our flagship development programmes with development projects in Bangladesh and that his country supports for urban development projects in Rajshahi, Khulna and Sylhet in line with its Smart Cities Initiative.

“We have also signed MoU in energy efficiency and a plan to install 10,000 highly efficient LED bulbs in Dhaka, Rajshahi and Chittagong is in the pipeline,” he disclosed.

India will also jointly undertake the Buriganga River Restoration Project under the new line of credit which has synergies with its own Namami Gange Project, he added.

“We are looking at partnership not just in infrastructure development but also social and economic development and plans to construct 36 community clinics in Bangladesh are underway,” he further added.

Citing our bilateral relationship is being viewed as a model relationship between two close neighbours, He continued to say that the potential of the bilateral

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Bangladesh’s July-May FDI inflow ticks upThe inflow of foreign direct investment or FDI into Bangladesh, particularly in energy, telecom and stock market has increased, reports bdnews24.com.

Bangladesh received $2.65 billion in the form of gross FDI inflow during the period of July-May of the fiscal year 2016-17 against $2.33 billion in the corresponding period of the previous fiscal year.

The net inflow of FDI jumped 27.75 per cent to $1.62 billion in the July-May period, according to data released by the Bangladesh Bank on its website.

Portfolio investment in the stock market jumped about six times to $324 million.

Finance Minister AMA Muhith has mentioned “political stability” as a factor behind the growth.

In his closing speech on budget in the parliament on Jun 28, while discussing FDI, he said: “A stable political situation has created a positive impact.”

Trade deficit widened to $9.2 billion in the 11 months to May from $6.45 billion a year ago.

Bangladesh imported goods worth $40.25 billion during the July-May period of the last fiscal year. It was about 11 per cent higher than that in the corresponding period of the fiscal 2015-16. (Courtesy: The Financial Express, dated July 13, 2017)

Indian Shapoorji Pallonji group on 28th August struck a 22-year power sales contract with Bangladesh Power Development Board without competitive bidding.

Shapoorji’s subsidiary, Nutan Bidyut (Bangladesh) Ltd, will supply electricity from its 220MW power plant at 3.9830 US cents or approximately Tk 3.19 per unit or kilowatt-hour when it would run on natural gas and $16.9621 US cents or Tk 13.57 per unit when it would run on diesel.

Nutan Bidyut will set up the dual-fuel power plant at Bhola by December 2019, according to a handout distributed at the contract signing ceremony.

The power plant will run at 220MW capacity if gas supply is available and it will run at 212MW capacity if it would run on diesel in case of non-availability of gas supply.

The power board awarded the contract to the Indian company under the Speedy Supply of Power and

Energy (Special Provisions) Act 2010 that indemnified officials concerned against any prosecution for awarding contracts without any tender.

Using the benefit of the much-talked-about ‘indemnity’ act, the government also awarded contracts to Indian Adani Group to supply electricity from a 1,600MW coal-fired power plant and Reliance to set up a floating re-gasification unit and supply 500 million cubic feet of natural gas per day. Reliance has also been allowed to supply electricity from at least three large power plants with 3,000 MW combined capacity.

Shapoorji was given the chance to have the contract with the power board after an Indian private company Lanco Infratech Limited, which won the contract through bidding, failed to install the power plant at Bhola.

When contacted, the power board chairman said Shapoorji group would set up a new power plant at Bhola. (Courtesy: NewAge dated 29th August 2017)

Implementation of cross-border paperless trade by introducing trade-based electronic communications would cut cost of doing business and time as well as reduce the level of corruption, speakers said at a workshop in Dhaka on 1st August.

At the workshop on ‘Paperless Trade Facilitation in Bangladesh’ organised by Bangladesh Foreign Trade Institute at the CIRDAP auditorium in the city, speakers said it would reduce the hassle of cross-border trade and ensure accountability and transparency, but ensuring cyber security was an

important issue.

‘If we can implement the cross-border paperless trade in Bangladesh, it will reduce cost of business by 17-31 per cent while time will be reduced by 24-44 per cent,’ commerce minister Tofail Ahmed said.

He said that Bangladesh would have to build its capacity on cross-border paperless trade to remain competitive in the global trade.

The paperless trade would increase trust between public and private sector and it would be helpful to

Indian co gets 220MW power plant deal sans bidding

Cross-border paperless trade to reduce cost, corruption: experts

relationship of India and Bangladesh is immense and both the countries are on the right path.

“Not only have we amicably resolved all outstanding issues but we have accelerated co-operation in areas

which are of mutual interest of both nations and will aid in our growth and development. Our people-to-people ties are stronger than ever,” he further mentioned. (Courtesy: Daily Sun, dated July 19,2017)

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Seated from let to right – IBCCI Secretary & CEO Jahangir Bin Alam, IBCCI President Taskeen Ahmed, FBCCI President Shafiul Islam Mohiuddin, Industry Minister Amir Hossain Amu, Indian High Commissioner Harsh Vardhan Shringla & Former FBCCI President Abdul Matlub Ahmad

Indo-Bangladesh waterway thru’ Brahmaputra soon

reduce trade malpractices, the commerce minister said.

Bangladesh would sign the framework agreement on Facilitation of Cross-Border Paperless Trade in Asia and the Pacific at the United Nations Regional Commission in Bangkok on August 29.

Md Nojibur Rahman, chairman of National Board of Revenue, said that the business community

would be hugely benefited if paperless trade can be implemented as it will significantly reduce the time and cost of export and import.

Highlighting the progress of NBR in terms of automation and implanting paperless trade mechanism, he said that the level of corruption could also be enormously decreased through the system. (Courtesy: New Age, dated August 02, 2017)

The Indian and Bangladeshi governments have undertaken an ambitious project to establish a new waterway between the two neighbours using the mighty Brahmaputra river, Indian Union Minister Mansukh Mandaviya said recently.

Indian government would dredge the Brahmaputra river on its side and the Bangladesh authority would dredge the river on their side, he said.

“We expect that within the next one year the new waterway would be operational and it would boost the trade and people to people contact”.

India is prioritizing multi-modal connectivity in the northeastern region, including water connectivity, and already 16 waterway projects, mostly involving Bangladesh, have been approved, said a report published on the business-standard.com.

India and Bangladesh have a 2,979 km land border

and 1,116 km of riverine boundary. They also share 54 common rivers, including the Brahmaputra.

According to Tripura Transport Secretary Samarjit Bhowmik, the state government had submitted proposals to develop waterways between Tripura’s Gomati and Howrah and Bangladeshi rivers.

The shipping ministry has recently sanctioned Rs 120 million and asked the state government to submit detailed project reports to develop waterways between Tripura’s Gomti and Bangladesh’s Meghna rivers.

Since 1972, four inland water routes between India and Bangladesh are currently operational: Kolkata-Pandu (in southern Assam) via Bangladesh, Kolkata-Karimganj (in southern Assam) via Bangladesh, Rajshahi (in Bangladesh)-Dhulian (in southern Assam) and Karimganj-Pandu-Karimganj via Bangladesh. (Courtesy: The Financial Express; Date: 24th July, 2017)

India-Bangladesh Buyer-Seller Business MeetA 2-day long “India-Bangladesh Buyer-Seller Business Meet” on agriculture, horticulture, & processed food organised by Indian Chamber of Commerce (ICC) in collaboration with India-Bangladesh Chamber of Commerce and Industry (IBCCI) and the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FBCCI) and with support of the High Commission of India in Bangladesh was held at the Pan Pacific Sonargaon Hotel, Dhaka on July 8th & 9th. Hon’ble Minister of Industry, Govt. of Bangladesh Mr.

Amir Hossain Amu inaugurated the meet on 8th July as the Chief Guest. While, the High Commissioner of India HE Mr. Harsh Vardhan Shringla, FBCCI President Mr. Shafiul Islam (Mohiuddin) and Immediate Past President of FBCCI Mr. Abdul Matlub Ahmad were present on the occasion as Special Guests.A 52 member business delegation from India headed by the Director General, ICC and a large number of Bangladeshi business people attended the meet.

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Inaugural session of the meeting

Another Indo-Bangla grid soon for power importMore 500MW power purchase from neighbouring state planned to meet growing demand

Bangladesh will install another cross-border high-voltage transmission line for importing 500-megawatt electricity from India, officials said on 24th July.

This will be the second such line to be used for importing Indian electricity. Currently, 500MW power is being imported everyday from India through the first 400kv transmission grid line.

The state-run Power Grid Company of Bangladesh (PGCB) will set up the 400-kilovolt (kv) high-voltage double-circuit grid line between Bheramara in Bangladesh and bordering Berhampur in India to import power from the neighbouring state, West Bengal.

Meanwhile, the state-owned power company completed the first 400kv Bheramara-Baharampur transmission-line construction in September 2013. Thereafter, in October 2013 the government started import 250MW power from India, which later increased to 500 megawatt.

According to the PGCB, it has plans to set up the second 40-kilometre double-circuit line between Bheramara and bordering Baharampur of India by

December 2018.

Earlier, Bangladesh had signed a 500MW power-import deal with India under which it could begin the power import from the neighbouring country in late 2012.

In July 2010, Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB) signed a 35-year power agreement with the Power Grid Company of India Ltd (PGCIL) to import 250MW electricity in the first phase.

The proposed back-to-back High Voltage Direct Current (HDVC) 125-km transmission line connects Baharampur in India and Bheramara in Bangladesh, which can transfer 500MW electricity.

India’s largest electricity producer, National Thermal Power Company (NTPC), is supplying power to Bangladesh under a move meant for helping strengthen trade ties between the two nations.

The stat-owned BPDB purchases the power from the Indian public company, NTPC, under a power-purchase agreement signed in February 2012. (Courtesy: The Financial Express, dated July 25, 2017)

Express Courier Dual Trial Run Joint Taskforce Meeting

August 22: A meeting of the joint bi-lateral taskforce on Express Courier Dual Run between Bangladesh and India was held on the day at The Park Hotel, Kolkata.

Being one of the member organisations of the 13 member Taskforce, IBCCI was represented in the above meeting by the Chamber Secretary & CEO Jahangir Bin Alam.

The purpose of the taskforce meeting was to discuss and agree on the procedures for conducting a Dual Trial Run of an express courier truck in end 2017 in both directions between the custom facilities at Dhaka and Kolkata airports via Benapole-Petrapole border crossing under the draft protocol BBIN Motor Vehicle Agreement initiative.

The meeting was organised by Business Initiative Leading Development (BUILD), Bangladesh with support of USAID under its Asia Middle East Economic Growth Best Practices (AMEG) in cooperation with Confederation of Indian Industry (CII).

IBCCI Secretary & CEO Jahangir Bin Alam seen participating in the discussion

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12th Sustainability Summit of CIIThe 12 Sustainabilty Summit of CII was held at Hotel Le Meridien, New Delhi on September 6th & 7th with the theme “2030 Agenda : Driving Inclusive Growth”. There were intense deliberations on critical issues face by mankind, such as - Agriculture; Climate change; Clean energy; Water; Mining; Business ethics; E-commerce and Health concerns.

Businesses, governments representatives, representatives of think tanks and civil society representatives from across the globe participated in the summit.

IBCCI Secretary & CEO Jahangir Bin Alam represented the Chamber in the event.

Indian Engineering Expo (INDEE) Bangladesh

Poor connectivity hits Indo-Bangla border trade

August 13: Gurvinder Singh, Sr. Joint Director and Ms. Pallavi Saha, Deputy Director of Engineering

Export Promotion Council (EEPC) of India had a dinner meeting with IBCCI Secretary & CEO, Jahangir Bin Alam at Hotel Nascent Gardenia, Dhaka and exchanged views on matters relating to organising Indian Engineering Exposition in Dhaka under the name and style of INDEE Bangladesh.

A 3-day long Indian Engineering Expo (INDEE) Bangladesh is being organised in Dhaka from November 2-4, 2017 by the Engineering Export Promotion Council of India (EEPC India) in collaboration with the Ministry of Commerce & Industry, Ministry of MSME, Govt. of India and the High Commission of India in Bangladesh and supported India-Bangladesh Chamber of Commerce and Industry (IBCCI).

India-Bangladesh trade ties are troubled by poor rail- and river-connectivity in the region bordering Assam as well as a delay in putting four new border haats into operation in the area bordering Meghalaya.

This is the situation even 20 months after Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bangladesh visit that paved way for the historic ceremony of exchange of instruments of ratification of the India-Bangladesh Land Boundary Agreement, 1974 and its 2011 Protocol.

It also resulted in an agreement on several measures to “widen bilateral trade, investment and economic cooperation in a balanced and sustainable manner to mutual benefit but also open up opportunities for regional trade.”

Bangladesh was India’s largest South Asian trading partner in 2015-16 - with bilateral trade worth $6.8 billion that fiscal.

The trade balance was in favour of India with its exports of $6.03 billion to Bangladesh in FY’16.

Bangladesh’s export to India was $0.77 billion, reports The Hindu.

Mankachar border trade: Assam, during a meeting with the Centre last month, said road connectivity in the Bangladesh side for Mankachar Border Trade Point (BTP) “is very poor, and trade is possible only in summers.”

The Centre responded by stating that the issue may be included in the agenda of the next meeting of the Joint Working Group on Trade and also at the meeting of the subgroup on infrastructure.

It wanted Assam to provide more details on issues of road connectivity for Mankachar BTP.

Assam also said dredging of the Brahmaputra River on the Bangladesh side was essential to make river vessels route navigable.

Though India wants this proposal to be formulated under South-Asia Sub Regional Economic Cooperation, it has not yet been done due to lack of details on dredging under the Protocol Routes on the

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India removes entry, exit bars on Bangladesh nationals’ visasThe Indian government has removed entry and exit restrictions on visas issued to Bangladesh nationals, reports UNB.

Through removal of this restriction, now any Bangladesh national having Indian visa with name of entry or exit point (i.e. by air/ by road) will be able to enter to or exit from India through any of the 24 international airports and two integrated check posts in India in addition to entry or exit point mentioned

in the visa.

The International Airports include Ahmedabad; Amousi (Lucknow); Amritsar; Bagdo-gra; Bangalore; Calicut; Chandigarh; Chennai; Cochin; Coimbatore; Dabolim (Goa); Delhi; Gaya; Guwahati; Hyderabad; Jaipur; Kolkata; Mangalore; Mumbai; Nagpur; Pune; Trichy; Trivandrum and Varanasi. (Courtesy: The Financial Express; Dated: 26th July, 2017)

North East Connectivity Summit, Kohima

CUTS Dialogue on Reduction of NTBs in Indo-Bangla Agro Trade

The North East Connectivity organised by Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI) was held at the NBCC Convention Centre in Kohima the capital of North East Indian state of Nagaland on September 22-23.

IBCCI Secretary & CEO, Jahangir Bin Alam represented the Chamber and participated in the Round table discussion on Sub-regional Economic Integration

August 8: A day long stake holders dialogue on “Reduction of NTBs in Agricultural Trade between Bangladesh and India organised by Consumer Utility & Trust Society (CUTS International), an Indian think tank in association with Unnayan Shamannay, a Bangladeshi think tank was held in the day at Hotel Golden Tulip, Dhaka on the day..

Matters relating to existing non-tariff barriers (NTBs) scenario and reduction thereof were discussed on the occasion and a set of recommendations to this end were prepared thereafter for placing those to the respective government authorities of both the two countries.

Bangladesh side and the funds required.

On Bangladesh’s proposal for a Regional Waterway Project-1 (Chittagong-Dhaka-Ashuganj Corridor) for dredging of rivers with World Bank assistance, India said it will lend support provided Bangladesh promises that in the said proposal, development of India-centric Protocol Route under Indo-Bangladesh Protocol on Inland Water Transit and Trade (PIWTT) would also be considered.

Bangladesh has sought guidance and help from Dredging Corporation of India, the Centre said.

Meanwhile, Meghalaya has informed the Centre that joint inspection for operationalisation of six “new”

‘Border Haats’ was pending due to an inadequate response from Bangladesh. The Centre said, two of these new border haats are operational and the remaining four are under implementation stage.

Border haats: It said Bangladesh has informed that since the Memorandum of Understanding and Mode of Operation on Border Haats have expired in 2013, discussions on the issue should be made only after their renewal.

The Centre said India has taken up with Bangladesh the issue of holding the meeting of the Joint Border Haat Management Committees. (Courtesy: Daily Observer dated February 21, 2017)

IBCCI Secretary & CEO, Jahangir Bin Alam represented the Chamber in the dialogue.

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July 19: Mr. Ashish Kumar Soni, Resident Representative, Export-Import Bank of India visited the Chamber on the day and exchanged views on matters relating to business collaboration with Bangladeshi and Indian entities in the country.

July 20: Ms. Binita Shah, Founder & CEO of IWICA, India visited the Chamber on the day and discussed matters relating to promotion of her company’s business in Bangladesh with IBCCI Secretary & CEO.

July 20: Mr. Pranay Goswami, a Loss Assesor/Surveyor & Valuer from Agartala, Tripura called on the Chamber Secretary & CEO on the day and exchanged views on business development between Tripura and Bangladesh.

August 01: Som Baksi, Senior Manager, Aptech Limited, Mumbai, India called on the IBCCI Secretary & CEO, Jahangir Bin Alam at the Chamber office on the day and exchanged views on matters relating to setting up of Aptech Training Centre in Dhaka.

August 9: Mr. V. K. Seth, Managing Director along with Mr. R. S. Panesar, Director of Sakata Inx (India) Pvt. Ltd. visited the Chamber on the day and discussed matters relating their company’s interest in putting up an ink manufacturing plant in Bangladesh.

September 12: Debabrata Ghadei, Regional Business Manager, Escorts Agri Machinery, Faridabad, India visited the Chamber on the day exchanged views on matters relating to promotion of his company products in Bangladesh.

Visitors to the Chamber

Editor: Jahangir Bin Alam

India-Bangladesh Chamber of Commerce and Industry Rupayan Centre (16th floor), 72 Mohakhali C.A., Dhaka-1212, Phone: 9858527, 9887074-6 E-mail: indiabanglachamber@gmail.com Web: www.ibcci.net

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