Hasina emphasises infrastructure for trade deal with Bhutan

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has emphasised construction of infrastructure to make the best of the Preferential Trade Agreement, or PTA, signed between Bangladesh and Bhutan.

Besides the PTA, she discussed areas of cooperation, especially trade and connectivity, with Bhutanese Prime Minister Lotay Tshering when the latter paid her a courtesy call at her office on Wednesday.

The two leaders agreed to use Bangladesh’s waterways to expand trade, Hasina’s Press Secretary Ihsanul Karim said.

Bangladesh signed the PTA with Bhutan in December last year with an aim to expand duty-free market access. It was the first PTA for Bangladesh.

Karim said Hasina discussed a bilateral or tripartite Memorandum of Understanding to build a hydropower plant in Bhutan.

Tshering urged Bangladesh to grant Bhutanese students onetime full-term visa and multiple entry visa facilities. Hasina ordered officials to take necessary steps to facilitate the matter, said Karim.

She also said Bangladesh will cooperate with Bhutan in the development of the IT sector, including broadband internet connections. She hoped the two countries would work together in international groups, including the UN.

Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen, Bangladesh Ambassador to Bhutan AKM Shahidul Karim and and Bhutan’s Ambassador in Dhaka Rinchen Kuentsyl, among others, attended the meeting.

The two leaders also held a private discussion.

Tshering arrived in Dhaka on Tuesday morning to join the double celebrations of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman’s birth centenary and the golden jubilee of Bangladesh’s independence. He is scheduled to leave on Thursday.

Foreign Minister Momen said at a press conference that Hasina and Tshering agreed to strengthen cooperation on railway, road and air connectivity.

They also agreed to finalise the draft protocol of a transit deal and Standard Operation Procedure to use inter-state waterways, according to the minister.

Both leaders emphasised holding the Foreign Office Consultancy and trade secretary-level meetings as soon as possible, Momen said.

The two countries will explore possible ways to launch train services through Chilahati-Haldibari route, and cargo plane services between Gelephu in Bhutan and Lalmonirhat or Syedpur in Bangladesh, he said.

Momen also said Hasina sent a message to Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan wishing him a quick recovery from COVID-19.