Dhaka, Jakarta to Enhance Bilateral Trade, Economic CooperationDhaka will propose to enhance bilateral trade and economic cooperation with Jakarta when Indonesia's Vice President Megawati Soekarno Putri arrives on January 5."It would be a high-profile visit and significant as well," Foreign Minister Abdus Samad Azad told reporters at the Foreign Office Tuesday, saying Bangladesh and Indonesia, being the members of Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC) and Developing-8, enjoy excellent relations. Megawati, daughter of Indonesia's founding father Soekarno, will be visiting Bangladesh on a three-day official tour at the invitation of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. She will be here on the second leg of her three-nation tour that would also take her to Saudi Arabia and Malaysia. Her visit is seen as significant as it would be Megawati's first official visit to Bangladesh and a follow-up to the visit of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina who toured Jakarta in September 1997. The Indonesian vice president will call on Bangladeshi President Shahabuddin Ahmed and meet with the prime minister on January 5 and is expected to hold official talks with Foreign Minister Azad on January 6. Asked whether Bangladesh would place any specific proposal for closing the widening trade gap with Indonesia, Additional Foreign secretary Ruhul Amin said there is scope for expanding Dhaka's trade with Jakarta, and Bangladesh will explore means of achieving more export trade to Indonesia. There won't be any agreement during the visit, but officials said the two countries were working for an accord on avoidance of double taxation to boost two-way trade. |
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