Bangladesh-Nepal bilateral PTA in final stage: Tapan

A Preferential Trade Agreement between Bangladesh and Nepal is in the final stage, Commerce Secretary Tapan Kanti Ghosh said on Tuesday.

“There are various commonalities between Bangladesh and Nepal and both the countries are going to be graduated from the LDC category in 2026,” he said during a business networking meeting between the DCCI and the visiting business delegation from Confederation of Nepalese Industries (CNI), Nepal, a press release said.

The commerce secretary hoped that soon the PTA would be signed after getting the final nod from the Nepalese side.

Joining the meeting as the chief guest, Tapan Kanti said Bangladesh is a very big market with a huge consumer base especially in the FMCG (fast moving consumer goods) sector and the country has to import a large quantity of consumer items like edible oil, lentil, sugar etc.

He urged the Nepali businessmen to leverage this opportunity.

At the meeting, a memorandum of cooperation (MoC) between Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry and CNI was also signed, read the release. 

DCCI President Rizwan Rahman and CNI President Vishnu Kumar Agarwal signed the document on behalf of their respective organisations.

The commerce secretary termed the MoC as a milestone for both-way trade and commerce.

He, however, hoped the cooperation will boost bilateral trade and investment to a further level.