The cabinet approved the Bengali and English draft versions of the Regional Trade Agreement (RTA) Policy, 2022, on Monday (30 May) intending to preserve and expand the export market to effectively address the post-LDC graduation challenges. The approval was given at a regular weekly cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina at her office.
In a press briefing at the Bangladesh Secretariat, Cabinet Secretary Khandaker Anwarul Islam said that Bangladesh needs to enter into trade agreements with many countries to ensure duty-free access to Bangladeshi products, besides preserving and expanding the export market by tackling the LDC graduation challenges. ‘We have taken steps for a regional trade agreement. That’s why the policy has been adopted for this,’ he said.
The meeting also approved a proposal to ratify an agreement signed between Bangladesh and Oman on mutual visa exemption for holders of diplomatic, official, special, or service passports.
The cabinet also approved a proposal to provide transit facilities to Nepal, revoking its earlier decision on operating modes of a transit cargo transport between Nepal and Bangladesh under the Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, and Nepal Motor Vehicle Agreement (BBIN-MVA).
