The two-day fifth Bangladesh-Iran Joint Economic Commission (JEC) meeting will be held in Dhaka on May 15 and 16. Dhaka will seek duty-free access for its export items at the meeting, said sources in the Economic Relations Division (ERD). Finance minister AMA Muhith will lead the Bangladesh side at the meeting while Iranian industry, mines and trade minister Mehdi Ghazanfari will lead his side.
“The JEC meeting is taking place after eight years. The last meeting was held in Tehran in July 2006,” said the sources, adding that it would warm trade and commerce ties between the two countries, which are bound by long-time trading relations. The JEC would touch upon every aspect of the bilateral relations, the sources added.
Bangladesh would also request Iran to remove trade barriers so that Bangladeshi products can easily access the Iranian market. Dhaka will also seek to discuss the petroleum issue.
Bangladesh mostly exports jute and jute goods, including yarn, twine and raw jute, carpet backing, pharmaceuticals, garments, oilseeds, kitchenware, plastics, vegetables, textile fibres, paper, woven fabric, electronic equipment and stainless steel blades.
The volume of trade between the two countries stood at USD 57 million last year, of which exports to Iran were worth USD 15 million.
Earlier, the Bangladesh Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) urged the country’s embassy in Tehran to take necessary measures for boosting exports to the Islamic Republic.
The EPB had asked the embassy officials to identify potential exportable items and to collect reports on the best products that can be sent to the Iranian market.
Foreign minister Dr. Dipu Moni, MP had met her Iranian counterpart Dr. Ali Akbar Salehi in Tehran on August 30, 2012, on the sidelines of the 16th NAM summit.
-With The Independent input
