Bangladesh, Thailand hold official consultation on March 1
Bangladesh and Thailand may start negotiations on
signing a free trade agreement (FTA) in the upcoming foreign office
consultation (FoC) which is expected to be held in Bangkok on March 1 next,
sources said.
They said foreign secretaries of the two countries
would lead the meeting, called nearly six years after the first one in Dhaka.
The second meeting is likely to take a decision on conducting a joint study on the FTA based on internal studies of both countries, said an official concerned, adding that the Thai Embassy in Dhaka has already included the issue as an agenda of the FoC.
Thailand has shown interest in signing the FTA more
than a year ago as Bangladesh is their 15th largest trade and investment
destination, having trade in favour of Thailand with a huge surplus.
However, a recent survey conducted by the Bangladesh
Tariff Commission (BTC) gave a negative signal about going for the FTA as the
country suffers the trade deficit.
The joint trade committee, led by the commerce
ministers, in its last meeting also agreed on signing the FTA.
The government has recently felt the need for signing
various trade-related deals like FTAs, preferential trade agreements (PTAs) and
comprehensive economic partnerships with potential countries to get benefits
after graduation from the least developed country status in 2026.
Though several FTA proposals remained pending with the
government, surveys so far conducted in this regard mostly found negative
indications due to mainly losing revenue earnings, officials said.
The first PTA was signed with Bhutan recently.
Thailand has given duty-free and quota-free facilities to Bangladesh, which
however could not bring any benefit for the country due to some non-tariff
barriers from Thailand.
Official sources said the upcoming FoC will discuss
the entire gamut of bilateral relations, but FTA would be one of the priority
agenda from the Thailand side.
A senior official also said a joint survey proposal
will also be offered from the Bangladesh side in the meeting which may help get
a framework on the FTA.
Bangladesh is Thailand's third-largest trade partner in
South Asia with annual two-way trade worth US$1.25 billion in 2018. According
to data, Bangladesh exported items like oven and knit garments and agricultural
products worth $39 million last year.