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The Ministry of Commerce has reconstituted its Working Group (WG) to expand trade and commerce, with a focus on securing duty-free market access to Russia and tapping into the potential of exports to East European markets, officials said.
In a notification issued on February 12, the ministry said the 11-member group has been reconstituted under the provisions of Section 03 of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between Bangladesh and the Eurasian Economic Commission (EEC) on May 31, 2019.
The Bangladesh Working Group will collaborate with the EEC's working group to carry out activities under the MoU.
The EEC is the executive body of the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU), which comprises five member countries: Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Russia. Formed in 2015, the EEU represents a market of 183 million people and spans a land area of 20 million square kilometers.
The Working Group from both Bangladesh and the EEU will meet to discuss the next action plan aimed at increasing trade and economic cooperation under the MoU, according to a commerce ministry official.
Besides, discussions will be held with the Russian Federation to ease the existing tariff process to facilitate the export of Bangladeshi products to the Russian market, he said.
The goal of the cooperation under the MoU is to promote trade and strengthen economic and comprehensive relations between EEU member-states and Bangladesh. This includes increasing mutual trade and investment volumes, eliminating barriers to trade and investment flows, and fostering closer collaboration in areas of mutual interest, as outlined in the draft MoU.
Currently, Bangladeshi products have to take a detour through Germany and Turkey to reach these countries.
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