Bangladeshi business leaders are upbeat about the Indian market for Bangladeshi products particularly of apparels, as Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's maiden New Delhi tour last week has paved ways for enhanced economic ties.
Speaking at a press conference late yesterday some 50 business leaders who accompanied the premier in New Delhi said the Indian business community is giving a strong signal that it wants to engage in trade ties with its counterpart in Bangladesh.
"Earlier we received a strong resistance from the Indian apparel manufacturers, but this time they have shown keen interest in our business," Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA) President Fazlul Hoque said.
The Indian apparel manufacturers also recommended hike in duty-free quota of Bangladeshi readymade garments to 14 million pieces from 8 million pieces, giving a strong signal that they wanted enhanced trade engagement with Bangladesh, Hoque added.
"This time, we did not see any negative attitude from India, as we did in the past," Bangladesh Garments Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) President Abdus Salam Murshedy said.
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Saying that bilateral ties in political level was largely linked to the business relations, the business leaders urged main opposition party Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) to extend its cooperation to the government, for strengthening relations with India.
"It is natural the impact of a cool bilateral relation will have an impact on business ties, but the Prime Minister's visit have started melting the ice," leader of the business delegation banker Kazi Akramuddin Ahmed said.
Several business leaders said they found India's isolated North Eastern states to be a potential market for Bangladesh and they were confident to penetrate there even if Bangladesh allowed India the transit routes to the region, known as the Seven Sisters.
Bangladesh should also exploit business opportunity in the North Eastern states of India as nearly 300 million people live there, they said.
The business leaders, however, termed non-tariff barriers still to be barring their trade links with India but expected the visit to help remove the barrier.
Hoque further said it is not possible for the Indian manufacturers alone to supply the commodities for the Indian retail market, which is growing at a pace of 18 per cent per year.