Written by The Banking Post
The interim government has ruled out any negative impact on Bangladesh–India trade stemming from the recent IPL-related issue, saying bilateral commercial activities are continuing as normal.
Commerce Adviser Sheikh Bashiruddin made the remarks on Sunday after a meeting at the Secretariat on the new import policy order. He said Bangladesh follows an open and liberal trade approach and does not make reactive bilateral decisions unless domestic trade is affected.
“We maintain liberal trade relations with all countries. As long as our internal trade is not disrupted, we do not take specific bilateral decisions. Overall, we believe in open trade,” he said.
Referring to India, the adviser said Bangladesh has taken various commercial measures and is closely monitoring their impact, but so far there has been no adverse effect on trade flows.
Commerce Secretary Mahbubur Rahman said routine political or administrative developments generally do not disrupt bilateral trade. He acknowledged that India closed several land ports and suspended imports from Bangladesh in May, which caused a decline in exports. “Despite this, we did not take any retaliatory measures,” he said.
Addressing the suspension of jute exports to India, the commerce secretary said the move was taken purely to ensure adequate domestic supply and was not aimed at harming any trading partner. “Our policies are designed to safeguard internal trade and are never intended to cause damage to others,” he added.
