BANGLADESH, INDIA LAUNCH TALKS IN BID TO CUT TRADE RED TAPE.

DHAKA, May 3 Asia Pulse - A two-day meeting of the Bangladesh-India Joint Group of Customs (JGC) begins today in an effort to remove customs related trade barriers between the two countries.

This is the third official-level meeting to be held on this issue and follows up on the meeting of Joint Working Group on Trade held in Dhaka on 1-2 August last year.

Customs Commissioner of Benapole Mohammed Nasiruddin will lead the Bangladesh delegation while Indian Joint Secretary (Customs) Kameshawary Subramanian will lead the Indian team.

Bangladesh is set to raise the issue of the level of infrastructure development on the Indian side of the land customs stations (LCS), which serve as a barrier to the export of perishable items from Bangladesh, a National Board of Revenue official told UNB yesterday.

He said the Indian side is expected to raise issues such as the ban on yarn imports, cargo shipments through river channels and synchronising border trade through the land ports.

However, the issues for discussion had not been finalised yet, with the agenda to be decided at the meeting.

At the third meeting of the Joint Working Group on Trade, the two sides noted the inadequacy of physical and infrastructural facilities at the LCSs were impeding the movement of goods between the two countries.