Bangladesh-India bilateral trade currently stands at $12b: Minister

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Bangladesh’s bilateral trade with India currently stands at around $12 billion, Commerce Minister Khandaker Abdul Muktadir said on Monday.

He made the remarks while speaking to reporters after meeting Indian High Commissioner to Bangladesh at the Commerce Ministry in the Secretariat.

“India is one of Bangladesh’s major trading partners. We discussed increasing bilateral trade and resolving existing issues between the two countries,” the minister said.

According to Muktadir, Bangladesh-India trade was close to $13 billion last year, with Indian exports to Bangladesh accounting for around $11 billion and Bangladesh’s exports to India around $750 million.

He said despite various restrictions affecting bilateral trade following Bangladesh’s political change in 2024, trade remained substantial, showing that economic considerations often prevail over other issues.

The minister said an Indian business delegation had recently proposed forming two joint task forces involving businesses from both countries. One would focus on investment in Bangladesh’s infrastructure sector and the other on developing digital infrastructure.

The meeting also discussed fully operationalising land ports, reopening border haats, lifting restrictions on yarn imports through land ports and improving road connectivity, including the Sabroom route.

The two sides also discussed the transshipment facility introduced last year, he said.

Asked about a possible visit by Bangladesh’s prime minister to India, Muktadir said the issue was not discussed and falls under the Foreign Ministry’s purview.

He expressed hope that bilateral economic and trade relations would strengthen further during the tenure of the current Indian high commissioner.