November 18, 2003	Tuesday	Ramazan 22, 1424

DHAKA, Nov 17: Dhaka showed a go-slow attitude towards Islamabad’s offer to make a quick deal by signing and implementing a bilateral free trade agreement (FTA) though the two sides agreed to begin the next round of discussions in January 2004.

Concluding the two-day joint secretary-level talks on Monday, the negotiators admitted that they would have to sort out “slight differences” in the second stage of negotiation in Islamabad. The Dhaka meeting, they said, had created the ‘basis’ for future bilateral FTA talks.

However, both the sides’ initial gambits saw the rules of origin issue unaddressed, the modality unsettled and the phasing out plan not finalized, leaving these issues pending. They will have to be discussed in future negotiations.

Reflecting “slight differences” at the joint press briefing at the commerce ministry, the home side delegation chief described the talks as primary that only set the future direction, while the Pakistan team leader claimed that the draft agreement would be ready during the January talks.

Also, the Pakistan side proposed the follow-up meeting ahead of Bangladesh’s parallel schedule for FTA talks with India and Sri Lanka in January, when Islamabad will host the seven-nation SAARC summit.

“We’ve agreed to finalize the draft agreement of the free trade regime in the next round of talks and we’ll also finalize the phasing out plan then,” Pakistani delegation chief Jafar Iqbal Qadir told journalists, making Islamabad’s intention to have FTA with Dhaka as soon as possible very clear. “It might take 2-3 meetings to sign the FTA.”

Elias Ahmed, the Bangladesh side leader, said a negative list would be prepared with provisions to make concessions on other items. “Some items will enjoy immediate zero tariff while others will be kept in the second list to be addressed later on,” he added.

A longer negative list of commodities and the simplest rules of origin are high on the Bangladeshi agenda, said the commerce ministry’s joint secretary. Asked about differences in modality, Elias Ahmed said that Islamabad wanted finalization of the FTA with whatever agreements the two sides already had, whereas Dhaka preferred a comprehensive package deal, no matter however long a time it would take.

“Initially we had a lot of reservations but we’ve sorted them out,” said Jafar Iqbal Qadir, the Pakistani official, explicitly appreciating Bangladesh’s commitment to the FTA negotiation.

He said that Pakistan would make more concessions to Bangladesh than it would receive from the latter.

The Pakistani official also reiterated his recognition of Bangladesh’s status as a least developed country and its industrial base, state of the economy and export basket.

He told a questioner that Bangladesh could not yet fulfil the quota of exporting 10,000 tons of tea every year to the Pakistan market although Islamabad has offered duty-free access to tea and raw jute as well.