By IANS
Dhaka : Bangladesh will export eight million apparels to India annually without duty under a memorandum of understanding (MoU) the two countries signed here Sunday.
“I hope Bangladeshi exporters will be able to export to India within one month, after completion of all paperwork,” Pinak Ranjnan Chakravarty, Indian high commissioner here, said after the signing ceremony held at the Ministry of Commerce.
The paperwork, he said, would include the Indian government issuing an official notification to the Indian Customs authorities, BDNews24 news agency reported.
Garment exports are Bangladesh’s principal foreign exchange earners. The manufacturing and exports are looking up after a period of political turmoil last year, when importers turned to India, Vietnam, Indonesia and Thailand.
The Indian offer, despite Bangladesh being a competitor in the international market, was made in principle during the 14th Summit of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), when Bangladesh handed over the chairmanship to India in April this year.
This was followed up by visits of Indian External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee and Foreign Secretary Shivshankar Menon.