Bangladesh will send a draft proposal to Cambodia soon to form a joint trade commission (JTC) needed to boost bilateral trade and investment, officials said. They said the ministry of commerce (MoC) was now preparing a draft proposal for forming the JTC, which will be sent to Phnom Penh soon. In 2010, the two countries agreed to form a JTC for bilateral cooperation. But since then, there was no tangible development in this respect. “We are preparing the draft proposal for the joint commission. We will send it to Cambodia through the ministry of foreign affairs,” senior secretary of the MoC Hedayetullah Al Mamoon told the FE. He said that despite huge potential for business, Bangladesh could not export to Cambodia on a bigger scale due to the absence of such a commission. He said he had discussion with the Cambodian state minister for commerce and other leaders of the trade bodies at a business promotion meeting in Phnom Penh last month.
Mr Mamoon, who is expected to take charge as senior secretary of the ministry of finance next month, said the Cambodian businessmen had expressed their interests to increase bilateral trade and import products from Bangladesh considering price competitiveness and quality. He said there was a considerable demand for jute and jute goods, pharmaceuticals, tea, leather and leather goods in Cambodia. “Once there is a JTC between Bangladesh and Cambodia, then trade and investment between the two countries will grow significantly,” Mr Mamoon told the FE. He said the two countries approved a trade and investment agreement and granted each other the most-favoured nation status in 2006. But the volume of bilateral trade and investment between the two countries is still insignificant despite the potential to raise it. The two countries signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) in 2014 to have scientific and technical cooperation in the agricultural sector. Dhaka has been seeking long-term land lease for contract farming in Cambodia by Bangladeshi nationals. An agreement was also signed between the two countries for the promotion and reciprocal protection of bilateral investments. The two countries jointly carry out agricultural research. Bangladesh offered scholarships to Cambodian students at the Bangladesh Agriculture University. Bangladesh and Cambodia cooperate in various sectors. In 2013, they signed a visa exemption agreement for diplomatic passport holders. “We have requested the Cambodian entrepreneurs to invest in Bangladesh considering the prevailing business-friendly environment in the country,” the senior secretary said. Bangladesh’s main exports to Cambodia include garments, footwear and leather goods, knitwear, pharmaceuticals, tableware, home linen, textile, seafood and marine products, tea, potatoes, jute and jute goods, light engineering products, spices, cosmetics, ceramic, melamine products, and toiletries. Cambodia mainly exports cotton, edible oil, fertiliser, clinker, staple fibre, yarn, etc. to Bangladesh.
