Dhaka Bureau: Commerce Minister Tipu Munshi has called upon the country to work together to expand trade and commerce between Bangladesh and Iran by strengthening bilateral relations.
He made this call to Iran when Iranian Ambassador Mansour Chavosi paid a courtesy call at the ministry’s office this afternoon.
The Minister of Commerce said that Iran has historically had good trade relations with Bangladesh and is one of the Middle East’s main trading partners. Bangladesh exports more than it imports from Iran, but the amount is not much. Both countries have many opportunities to expand imports and exports. Employing this opportunity, he emphasized increasing the intercommunication between the business community in both countries.
Tipu Munshi said that Bangladesh and Iran are members of the OIC. Both countries are one of the member states of D-8. In 2006, the two countries also signed an agreement on the avoidance of double tariffs in addition to the bilateral preferential trade agreement between the two countries in order to increase bilateral and commercial relations. He requested the Iranian ambassador to the Bangladesh government ratify the double duty avoidance agreement.
Noting that there is ample opportunity to increase the commercial relations between the two countries, the Minister of Commerce expressed his conviction to take Iran-Bangladesh trade relations to a new height.
During the meeting, the ambassador of Iran said that Bangladesh is Iran’s old and faithful friend. Both countries have had cultural ties since ancient times. This relationship is constantly getting stronger. He expressed hope that the people of both countries would benefit and commercial relations would be strengthened by utilizing the existing opportunities and possibilities.
At the same time, the Iranian ambassador praised the progress of Bangladesh, citing significant growth in all economic indicators due to the far-reaching leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
