“Bangladesh will sign its first PTA with Bhutan on Sunday. Commerce Secretary Md Jafar Uddin spoke at the press conference while Commerce Ministry Additional Secretary Md Obaidul Azam, Foreign Ministry Additional Secretary Mashfee Binte Shams and FTA Wing Chief of the Commerce Ministry Md Shahidul Islam were also present. The commerce minister informed that he himself would sign the agreement on behalf of Bangladesh which is also the country’s first such bilateral preferential trade agreement. Economic Affairs Minister of Bhutan Lyonpo Loknath Sharma will sign the agreement on behalf of the Bhutanese side. Asked whether they have made any assessment on the impact of the PTA, Secretary Jafar said that they are working on it and hopefully the country’s export would get a boost after 5 to 10 years.

Source: Dhaka Tribune December 05, 2020 15:20 UTC