Bangladesh should explore opportunities in Indian markets to help narrow the trade gap between the two countries and build its own economy, Indian High Commissioner Pankaj Saran said yesterday.“There is a big market completely open for you. I would like to invite you to explore the market,” he told Bangladeshi businesspeople at the opening ceremony of the three-day India Investrade 2015 at Bangabandhu International Conference Centre in Dhaka.Sixty Indian companies have set up 68 stalls at the fair, displaying products such as energy and electrical equipment, electronics and industrial machinery.The Indian Chamber of Commerce has organised the show in association with the commerce ministry of India, the Indian High Commission in Bangladesh, the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry and the Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Industries Minister Amir Hossain Amu said Bangaldesh is a unique place for investment. “In order to become a developed economy by 2041, we are pursuing a liberal investment and industrial policy for foreign investors with attractive incentive packages.”With Bangladesh offering an exlusive economic zone to Indian entrepreneurs, investment from the neighbouring country to Bangladesh is bound to go up, the minister said.DCCI President Hossain Khaled said tariff and non-tariff barriers have to be removed to narrow the trade gap. Shafquat Haider, vice-president of India-Bangladesh Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said Bangladesh imports a lot of capital machinery and industrial raw materials from India. Businesses from these two sectors can easily invest in Bangladesh, he said.Unofficial trade between India and Bangladesh accounts for 30-32 percent of the formal trade, said Nayantara Palchoudhuri, chairman of Indian Chamber of Commerce, quoting the World Bank. She proposed simplification of the complex duty system at land ports and making testing labs a part of ports to increase two-way trade.
