Saturday, July 8 2006 12:57 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Dhaka: India has offered to export to Bangladesh a large variety of raw material from its northeastern states that could be processed in the country and sold back to the region to help Dhaka bridge its bilateral trade gap.

The offer was made by Joint Secretary in Indian Commerce Ministry V.P.C. Shastri at a two-day meeting of the Indo-Bangla joint working group at Agartala, Tripura. His counterpart Elias Ahmed led the Bangladesh side.

The Bangladesh news agency UNB, reporting on the meeting, gave no indication of any specific commodities mentioned or the reaction from the Bangladesh side to the offer.

India has from time to time been making suggestions such as this to help Bangladesh bridge the balance of trade gap.

"The northeastern states of India have huge resources and raw materials and these can be exported to Bangladesh. After due processing, the finished products can be made available to the people of the region at much cheaper rates," Shastri was quoted as saying in The Daily Star newspaper.

Elias Ahmed stressed that India's northeastern states and Bangladesh have common culture and lifestyle and these similarities could easily help enhance bilateral trade.

The poor infrastructure on both sides was discussed and it was decided to step up efforts at modernising and upgrading existing facilities, including roads, to boost bilateral trade.

"We have decided to modernise and upgrade our existing infrastructure, including road connectivity, to further boost trade between the two countries, especially between the northeastern states of India and Bangladesh," said Shastri after the meeting.

Terming the meeting "very successful", he said: "It is our constant endeavour to reduce the huge bilateral trade gap existing between the two nations."

The meeting also discussed issues relating to tariff and non-tariff barriers.

Customs officials of both the countries will soon meet and review the performance of land customs stations.

The meeting also discussed the recommendations of the task force constituted by the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI) and the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI). Details were not announced.