Business leaders show cautious optimism on Bangladesh-Pakistan trade commission move
"Pakistan has a strong capacity in textiles. We already import fabric from them, and there is scope to expand this further," BGMEA President Mahmud Hasan Khan says
Business leaders have expressed cautious optimism over the government's decision to form a Trade and Investment Commission with Pakistan to boost bilateral trade and investment cooperation.
Mahmud Hasan Khan, president of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA), told The Business Standard that the garment sector could benefit from closer collaboration with Pakistan's textile industry.
"Pakistan has a strong capacity in textiles. We already import fabric from them, and there is scope to expand this further. In textile chemicals too, Pakistan has an advantage. They could invest in Bangladesh, or we could utilise their capacity and expertise," he said.
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Former Bangladesh Trade and Tariff Commission member Dr Mostafa Abid Khan struck a more cautious note, stressing the need for deeper analysis before expecting major benefits.
"We do not yet have studies on where exactly trade and investment opportunities lie. But Pakistan is better than Bangladesh in cotton textiles. If we can attract Pakistani investment in that area, it would be good for us," he said.
Earlier yesterday, Commerce Adviser Sheikh Bashir Uddin announced that the government had decided to form the new commission, alongside reactivating the long-dormant Bangladesh-Pakistan Joint Economic Commission.
"We had very intensive discussions. We are working on forming a new Trade and Investment Commission," he told reporters at the Secretariat, following a meeting with Pakistan's Federal Commerce Minister Jam Kamal Khan, who is on an official visit to Dhaka.
