‘BD will appreciate if India removes export barrier of seeds’

Agriculture Minister Dr Muhammad Abdur Razzaque said, Bangladesh will appreciate if India removes export barrier of seeds.He made these call at a discussion titled ‘India Bangladesh Digital Conference on Agriculture Sector followed by B2B Session held virtually on Tuesday.
The conference was jointly organized by Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI) and Confederation of Indian Industries (CII).

FBCCI President Sheikh Fazle Fahim, CII President-Designate and Tata Steel Ltd CEO and Managing Director TV Narendran, Indian High Commissioner to Bangladesh Vikrm Doraiswami, CII Director General Chandrajit Banerjee and CII National Mission on Aatma Nirbhar Bharat Chairman and Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd Managing Director and CEO Dr Pawan Goenka spoke at the session. Commerce Minister Tipu Munshi and Minister of Commerce & Industry, Railways and Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution, Government of India Piyush Goyal graced the inaugural session with their participation.

Tipu Munshi said, India is not just a neighbor but also a good friend.He said, India is the second largest trade partner of Bangladesh. But the trade balance is in india’s favor.Mentioning the anti dumping measures taken by Indian government against Bangladeshi export items including jute, he said, Those measures adversely affected our exports.

Piyush Goyal said, Bangladesh is India’s biggest trade partner in south asia. The partnership is a role model in this region. He said, I do believe agriculture can have game changing potential between both our countries.Vikrm Doraiswami said, Agriculture is a key sector for both of us in political, social and economic terms.

Commemorating birth centenary of our Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and India’s cooperation during the war of independence in 1971, Sheikh Fazle Fahim said, ‘No two nations are like ours in this world build on humane ties that are bonded in our heritage, culture, anthropology which were to be cherished and honored for generations to come.

He said, ‘Bangladesh’s private sector procures multi billion dollars of value chain inputs from India which have higher prospects and we want to jointly work to move towards a sustainable trade balance. These will be possible through JVs, industry diversification and market diversification. And we are confident we can achieve any goals through stronger public private engagement beyond our borders.’Delegates from leading companies of both countries in agriculture, agro mechanization and food-processing also participated in the program.

(AA)