SAARC Countries Should Work Closely for Regional Development: Bangladeshi PresidentPresident Shahabuddin Ahmed Monday hoped that the SAARC (South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation) countries would work closely to achieve regional development and make concessions for transition from preferential trading to South Asia Free Trade Area (SAFTA).He mad the suggestion when visiting Sri Lankan Minister for Constitutional Affairs, Industrial Development and Deputy Minister for Finance G.L. Peiris made a courtesy call on the president. Welcoming Peiris, President Shahabuddin said relations between Bangladesh and Sri Lanka are deep-rooted bilaterally and on international arena. He, however, said the volume of trade between the two countries is rather small and does not reflect the existing true potential. He hopped that Dhaka-Colombo direct air link would help greater interactions with Sri Lanka in the field of trade and economic cooperation. Peiris, thanking the president for receiving him, praised excellent bilateral relations between Sri Lanka and Bangladesh and said there is enormous scope for furthering economic cooperation between the two nations. He mentioned that a team of businessmen and entrepreneurs of Sri Lanka is now visiting Bangladesh to explore the possibilities of business and investment. Meeting with the Sri Lankan counterpart, Bangladesh Industries Minister Tofail Ahmed said that bilateral arrangements would be more useful since the SAARC failed to make any breakthrough in strengthening economic cooperation among the countries of the region. As preferential agreements also have not yet been deemed functional, the minister stressed increased interactions between private sectors of Bangladesh and Sri Lanka to accelerate bilateral trade and investment. |
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