Bangladesh-India trade talks begin in New Delhi today

Photo - Collected

The 16th meeting of the Bangladesh-India Joint Working Group on trade begins in New Delhi today (Thursday).

The two-day meeting will end tomorrow (Friday).

Bangladesh will raise various issues related to bilateral trade, including trade barriers, anti-dumping duties on jute products and land port-related matters.

A 10-member Bangladesh delegation led by Additional Commerce Secretary Ayesha Akter left Dhaka for New Delhi on Tuesday to attend the meeting. 

A member of the delegation said Bangladesh would raise almost all trade-related issues at the meeting. However, the Indian side has not yet informed Bangladesh about the issues it plans to raise. The official said the meeting is a platform for discussions, not for making decisions.

The official also said the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) is not on Bangladesh’s agenda. The trade gap between the two countries will also be discussed, as there is a large difference between Bangladesh’s exports to India and India’s exports to Bangladesh.

According to National Board of Revenue data, Bangladesh exported goods worth $1.75 billion to India in the 2025-26 fiscal year, while India exported goods worth $10.96 billion to Bangladesh.

India is Bangladesh’s second-largest source of imports after China. Bangladeshi businesses import industrial raw materials, fabrics, yarn and cotton from India.