KARACHI, Dec 27: The Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) has called for signing a free trade agreement with Bangladesh at the earliest for the benefit of both the countries. “Although the signing of FTA between the two countries has been agreed in principle, but so far this has not been materialized,” said KCCI President Haroon Farooki during a meeting with a delegation of Bangladeshi parliamentarians at the Chamber.

Salahuddin Quader Chowdhury, Member of Parliament and Advisor to the Prime Minister of Bangladesh on Parliamentary Affairs led the delegation, says a KCCI release.

The KCCI chief noted that there were also other agreements signed between the two countries for the mutual benefit, but their effective implementation in many areas was lacking.

He said the volume of trade between the two Muslim countries was also not more than 12 per cent.

He underlined the need for more visits of dignitaries, traders, and politicians to each other’s countries as this would help to exploit the existing trade potential of the two nations.

President KCCI observed that as Bangladesh was developing its textile and readymade garments industry on fast track enhanced cooperation between the two countries in this field would be of mutual benefit.

Pakistan can export capital goods including machine tools, industrial plants, electrical goods and transport equipments to Bangladesh, he suggested

The leader of the BD delegation Salahuddin Quader Chowdhury said that there was tremendous scope for strengthening economic ties between the two brotherly countries.

Both countries could greatly complement each other, particularly, in textile exports as Pakistan was a major exporter of textile yarn and Bangladesh was exporting value-added textiles like readymade garments and still enjoying preferential status from European Union.—APP