India has resumed trade with Bangladesh after 47 days of trade suspension following political unrest and large-scale protests that led to Sheikh Hasina stepping down as Bangladesh’s prime minister. Cross-border trade kicked off with the resumption of railway freight services on August 20. But passenger train services between the two countries remain suspended.
New Delhi has recorded export of about 40,000 tonnes of goods, a significant recovery, to the neighboring country of Bangladesh. A trade analyst said intervention by the Indian and Bangla governments facilitated the resumption of services.
He commended Bangladesh’s interim government for being focused on the country’s economic growth, and India on restoring trade relations to help the struggling neighbor towards normalcy.
In regards to the resumption of passenger train service between India and Bangladesh, an official said this is under discussion at the foreign ministry level. He believes services will restart once an agreement is reached.
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Bangladesh is Country for Investment for India
Salehuddin Ahmed, the finance and commerce adviser to the Bangladesh interim government, said projects taken under the Indian line of credit (LoC) will continue. He said these are big projects and Bangladesh will continue, and take on more big projects.
In August 2010, India and Bangladesh sealed the first LoC agreement worth $862 million, and the second agreement in March 2016 worth $2 billion, and a third worth $4.5 billion in 2017. Salehuddin highlighted Bangladesh as a very good place for investment and economic cooperation.
The finance adviser said New Delhi will allow more quality export of Bangladeshi products to India, which would be a win-win for both countries. He shared that India has also offered support for science, technology, and scientific research and laboratory.
