Written by The Banking Post
Bangladesh and Nepal are set to intensify cooperation on trade, transit and connectivity as senior officials meet in Dhaka today for the 8th Bangladesh–Nepal Commerce Secretary-Level Meeting.
The meeting will review progress made since the previous round in Kathmandu in April 2024 and chart a forward-looking roadmap to expand trade, investment and logistics links amid shifting regional and global trade conditions. Discussions are scheduled to conclude on January 14.
A central focus will be the preferential trade agreement (PTA), with talks aimed at further reducing tariffs, para-tariffs and non-tariff barriers, improving market access and simplifying cross-border payment mechanisms.
Officials will also assess cooperation on sanitary and phytosanitary measures and technical barriers to trade, including the implementation of agreements between standards and quality-control agencies of the two countries to ease technical requirements and speed up border clearance.
Trade facilitation and connectivity are expected to dominate the agenda. Proposals include developing integrated check posts and inland container depots, setting up testing laboratories at Banglabandha, improving railway links, harmonising customs procedures, insurance and road standards, and advancing a customs mutual assistance agreement.
Transit through Bangladesh, use of inland waterways and possible tripartite cooperation with India will also be discussed, alongside tourism, air connectivity, investment facilitation, visa simplification and the scheduling of the next meeting.
Officials aim to agree on concrete timelines to translate policy discussions into practical outcomes, strengthening economic ties as both countries prepare to graduate from least developed country status in 2026.
Bilateral trade between Bangladesh and Nepal currently stands at around $45–55 million, according to official data. The PTA, signed in December 2020 and implemented in July 2022, remains Bangladesh’s first such agreement, as the country does not yet have a free trade agreement with any partner.
