The Indian Chamber of Commerce (ICC) in association with the Department of Commerce, Ministry of Industry and Commerce, Govt. of India organized a two-day India Bangladesh Buyers Sellers Meet (BSM) on October 19, and 20. More than 35 Bangladeshi buyers and 150 Indian Sellers participated in the BSM.

A technical session was carried out by A. Selvakumar, Director, IWAI, Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways, GoI. Mr. Kumar talked about the various activities carried out by IWAI, for feasible trade activities between the counties. With an overall 111 inland waters ports in India, he emphasized on the Act East Policy and the projects center sponsor for states like Assam, Manipur, Mizoram, and Tripura.

He also stressed the Indo Bangladesh Protocol by both governments for waterways, the projects of which have been given to the NHIDCL and are tentatively to be completed by 2023. He also emphasized on the alternative road to the Pandu port, Guwahati which is expected to complete by Feb 2025.

Other additional facts provided by Selvakumar are the establishment of a skilled development center in Guwahati; construction, supply, and installation of two floating jetties at Bogibeel and Guijan, tourist jetties under a project of the Ministry of Tourism, Government of India, construction of Cargo terminal at Bogibeel, fairway development at river Dhansiri and Kapilli.

He also talked about the existing infrastructure, renovation of the Karimganj and Badarpur terminals on the Barak river, too floating terminals at Sonamura (river Gumti), and projects on IBP routes to connect the Northeast region with Kolkata/Haldia/NW1.

Md. Kabir Khan, Co-ordinator of the India Bangladesh ICP/LCs Infrastructure Development spoke on the active trade activities of Bangladesh. He emphasized the long friendly relationship between both India and Bangladesh. He mentioned that in total there are 24 land ports are there in Bangladesh for Indo-Bangladesh trade.

Khan emphasized the development of the infrastructure and improvising the digital security in major ports. He mentioned the 12 operational land ports and 6 ports are supposed to be in work soon between India and Bangladesh.

SM Abul Kalam Azad, Secretary General of IBCCI praised Assam’s mineral resources, horticultural, forestry, and cultural heritage. He talked of the two permanent land custom stations between Assam and Bangladesh at Dhubri and Karimganj but suggested establishing more land custom destinations. He pointed out the problems that come in between the trade exchange like lack of communication infrastructure, visa issues, customs and tariffs, and non-tariff barriers, lack of digital networking, red tape, and bureaucratic issues. Azad proposed an exhibition to be held in Assam and Bangladesh for cultural and trade exchange between the importers and exporters of both countries.

Fazlee Shamim Ehsan, Vice President of Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association spoke on the vitality of the SMEs for bilateral business, business treaties, and protocol. That SMEs must be set as a priority in the import and export of small trade products, which becomes expensive, as the opposed of the bulk product export and import, which can be cut down if purchased from Bangladesh. He suggested to create a way of mid-venture between Assam and Bangladesh. He gave emphasis on the land port regions of the NER and suggested improving the facilities as soon as possible.

Arvind Basavaraj Akashi, Manger, Land Ports Authority of India, MoHA, GoI, emphasized the cross-border trade potential through ICPs, and internal factors-external factors; suggested an action plan to ICC to conduct trade facilitation workshops at the district levels for trade awareness of the border areas, to establish an import-export hub at district levels, the role of DICC, credit facilities to provide for the imports and the exporters, to conduct periodical workshops, seminars for importers and exporters of both countries at the ICPs.

Feurdouzi Begum Director of FBCCI emphasized on the agricultural sector and sensitized the present crisis of the Ukraine-Russia War. She spoke on the culture and heritage of the mutual countries. Bangladesh exports agricultural products, vegetables, processed goods, potatoes, and diseased free seed to Europe, England, America, and other European and South East Asian countries including some states of India. She expressed her desire to let the export move to the NE region; emphasized the healthy Agro export and import of vegetables. Bangladesh has a plant quarantine unit that helps in indicting the two sanitization systems in the air harbors, in case of raw agricultural products. She talked of Rangpur, which is the hub of potatoes in Bangladesh. She proposed a Women's Entrepreneurship Exhibition between India and Bangladesh.

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