The decision came in the wake of the fourth round negotiations to be held in Bangkok November 10-12 under the Bangkok Agreement signed by five of the six countries for preferential trade.

Apta would help Bangladesh gain trade benefits, according to sources in the commerce ministry.

The Bangkok Agreement was signed in 1975 in Bangkok by Bangladesh, South Korea, Sri Lanka, India and Laos.

The agreement gained momentum after China joined it as the sixth member in January 2002. China and South Korea offered significant trade concessions to the least developed countries in the pact including Bangladesh under the agreement.

Apta is now negotiating with some countries to include them in the grouping to turn it into a trade block, according to sources.

Thailand and Pakistan have already expressed willingness to join the agreement. The next meeting of Apta in November will decide on the new memberships.

In the previous three rounds of negotiations, Bangladesh got duty concessions from all the member countries. Under the agreement, it has been enjoying duty-and quota-free access of 59 items to China. Beijing also offered duty concessions ranging from 10 to 85 percent on 150 items from Bangladesh.

South Korea also agreed to provide 50 percent duty concessions on 34 Bangladeshi items. Bangladesh also sought duty- and quota-free access of 89 items to India and 124 items to Sri Lanka. These countries are yet to positively respond, according to sources.

Commerce ministry sources said Bangladesh benefited from trade with China following its inclusion in the agreement. Dhaka's exports to Beijing grew around 73 percent during July-December 2002 over the previous year.

Bangladesh fetched $11.54 million from China during the period against only 6.47 million during the previous year. The major items exported to China are leather and leather goods, frozen foods, jute and jute goods.