Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) president Adi Godrej led a delegation of 15 CEOs to Dhaka this week, where meetings were held with Bangladesh's ministers for industry, finance and foreign affairs as well as its central bank governor and industry chambers.
"We have suggested that Bangladesh set up an SEZ for Indian firms that see a big scope for investments in the country across sectors such as oil and gas, infrastructure, consumer and agricultural goods. This could help tap the true potential of bilateral trade and investment flows," Godjrej told ET.
While Bangladesh has responded positively to the idea, most officials and industry leaders that met the Indian delegation expressed unhappiness at India's inability to seal the proposed bilateral Teesta river water-sharing treaty. Godrej assured Dhaka that the industry body would take up the issue with the Indian government.
To help deal with operational issues that arise in Indo-Bangladesh trade and investments, the CII has decided to open a permanent office in Dhaka and put in place an India-Bangladesh CEOs' forum. Similar industry interaction frameworks have been put in place by India with CEOs from the United States, United Kingdom and Africa.
India also raised problems faced by its companies on Bangladeshi soil with regards to remittance and repatriation of income.
"There are practical issues with the repatriation of income from Bangladesh and remitting salaries to Indian executives working there," Godrej said.
"The country's central bank has promised to look into resolving them positively," he said.Bangladesh expressed concerns about the trade imbalance it faces with India and said that non-tariff barriers imposed by India were restricting its opportunities for exports.
"India has already allowed zero-duty imports for Bangladesh's products. We will request the government to review some of the non-tariff barriers cited by Dhaka," Godrej said.
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