Relations with India
Mumtaz Iqbal Dhaka
Mr. Farooq Sobhan's thoughtful and perceptive article India-Bangladesh Relations: The Way Forward (DS 5 June) suggests "concluding a bilateral Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with India," arguing that "There exists empirical data to show that the Indo-Lanka FTA has had a major impact in expanding Sri Lanka's exports to India, and has also resulted in a very sizeable increase in Indian investments in Sri Lanka." Could we please have these data? For example, how much expansion of trade and investments have taken place? In what sectors? What's Indo-Sri Lanka trade as a percentage of Sri Lanka's total trade? What are the prospects of continued further expansion in trade and investments(this of course has to be somewhat conjectural). Availability of such statistics would enable the readers-- presumably also decision makers-- in Bangladesh to make an informed judgement on the merits of FTA.
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