Bangladesh will put forward a package of proposals, including the signing of preferential trade agreement (PTA), with Nepal during the upcoming foreign office consultation (FOC). It will also submit proposals for reduction in tariffs, removal of non-tariff barriers and para-tariff measures and rationalisation of sensitive lists under SAPTA and APTA trade agreements. SAPTA is SAARC Preferential Trading Agreement and APTA is Asia Pacific Trade Agreement. Other proposals to be placed before the meeting include finalisation of the model text of bilateral investment treaty (BIT), holding trilateral meeting on hydropower cooperation and air connectivity and amendment to air service agreement between Bangladesh and Nepal, according to Bangla media reports.
Besides, issues of Bangladesh-Bhutan-India-Nepal Motor Vehicles Agreement (BBIN-MVA) and BBIN Joint Working Group, inclusion of Rohanpur-Singhabad as additional transit for Nepal, agriculture and climate change are likely to come up at the meeting for discussion, according to a report in Bangladesh newspaper. An inter-ministerial meeting on the upcoming FOC was held virtually on March 21. The negotiation process of finalising the text of the bilateral PTA had been going on for three years. Bilateral trade between Bangladesh and Nepal stood at around $73.47 million in fiscal 2020-21. Bangladesh imports yarn from around 22 countries. The import volume of yarn from Nepal is only about $1-2 million against the total bilateral trade volume with Nepal which is $80 million in the current fiscal so far, according to minutes of the meeting.