May 08, 2008	Thursday	Jamadi-ul-Awwal 2, 1429

ISLAMABAD, May 7: Pakistan has urged Bangladesh to conclude an early harvest agreement, as a fast-track prelude to a free trade agreement.

“Pakistan proposed to Bangladesh the signing of an early harvest agreement to facilitate trade from both sides to benefit from FTA at an early time and boost the confidence of both governments in FTA negotiations,” an official said after a meeting between visiting Bangladeshi Adviser on Foreign Affairs Dr Iftekhar Ahmed Chowdhury and his Pakistani counterpart Shah Mehmood Qureshi.

Pakistan and Bangladesh have been engaged in FTA negotiations since 2002, and despite Pakistan’s keenness on such an agreement, there has been little progress because of certain reservations of Bangladesh and differences over rules of origin and phase-out period.

Pakistani imports from Bangladesh include raw jute, jute goods, tea, leather, agri-products and chemical items. Pakistan exports textile and textile products, beverages, tobacco, vegetable products, fruits, processed food and light engineering products to Bangladesh.

The current annual trade between the two countries totals around $400 million.

Both Mr Qureshi and Dr Chowdhury stressed the need for enhancing the volume of bilateral trade.

The two sides also agreed that the institutional mechanisms to promote bilateral cooperation, such as Joint Economic Commission (JEC), and political consultations between the two foreign offices would be held this year after which both sides would consider the setting up of sectoral working groups to promote bilateral cooperation in various fields, including trade. During the meeting, discussions were held on bilateral relations and regional and international issues of common interest.