By Xinhua,
Dhaka : Bangladesh will procure 100,000 tons of rice from Myanmar on a regular basis as Dhaka mooted several proposals to expand bilateral trade and economic cooperation with Yangon.
The proposals included a gas pipeline from Myanmar to produce fertilizer in Bangladesh to meet Yangon’s demand as well as contract farming by taking lease of Myanmar’s agricultural lands.
The propositions were made during official talks between Bangladeshi caretaker government Chief Adviser Fakhruddin Ahmed and visiting Vice-Chairman of the State Peace and Development Council of Myanmar Vice Senior General Maung Aye.
During the talks the two leaders discussed early construction of a 23-km road linkage inside Myanmar at a cost of 20.3 million U.S. dollars.
The Bangladeshi side proposed that the road linkage could be extended up to China to establish a direct road connecting China, Myanmar and Bangladesh. The Myanmar side said they would think about the proposal since it requires funding.
Briefing reporters, Foreign Adviser Iftekhar Ahmed Chowdhury said, the two leaders also discussed delimitation of maritime boundary. “Talks were extremely fruitful,” he said.
The two sides also focused on how to increase bilateral trade from current 140 million U.S. dollars to 500 million U.S. dollars as Myanmar showed interest in importing more pharmaceutic products from Bangladesh. Present volume of trade is tilted towards Myanmar.
Besides, the two sides discussed intensifying military to military cooperation through training programs and exchange of visits between the two countries.
An agreement on Avoidance of Double Taxation was signed after the meeting.