November 16, 2003	Sunday	Ramazan 20, 1424

DHAKA, Nov 15: Bangladesh and Pakistan start talks on free trade agreement (FTA) on Sunday to set the modalities for the next round of negotiation for signing the bilateral trade pact, said commerce ministry officials.

The two-day joint secretary-level trade talks in Dhaka follow similar negotiations held earlier with India and Sri Lanka — all bilateral talks shying away from the stalled process of the SAARC free trade area (Safta).

In the Dhaka talks, trade negotiators of the two countries will try to find out how they should proceed—either with a negative or positive list — making a broader framework for the next round of discussions in Islamabad in January next year, said the home side delegation chief, the commerce ministry’s joint secretary Elias Ahmed.

Jafar Iqbal Qadir, a joint secretary in Pakistan’s commerce ministry, will lead the Pakistani team during the talks. The Pakistan side is likely to seek concessions from Bangladesh on more than 400 Pakistani items under the proposed FTA, sources in Bangladesh’s commerce ministry said.