THIMPHU, 24 March, 2021, (TON): PM Sheik Hasina today put accentuation on building important frameworks to receive the most noteworthy rewards from the Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA) endorsed among Bangladesh and Bhutan.

She mentioned the objective fact during a meeting with visiting Bhutanese Prime Minister Dr. Lotay Tshering at her office.

PM's press secretary Ihsanul Karim briefed reporters after the meeting. He said that both PM talked about different fields of collaboration between the two nations, particularly exchange and network. The two of them consented to enact the riverine courses so that exchange between the two nations could be extended.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina put emphasis on building more ports of call. For establishing cooperation in the hydropower project, she asked for formulating bilateral or tripartite MoU in this regard.

The Bhutanese Prime Minister mentioned PM Hasina to give one-time numerous full-term visas for their understudies who are concentrating in Bangladesh. The Bangladesh Prime Minister settled upon the issue and asked the officials concerned for making essential strides. She additionally said that Bangladesh would participate in Bhutan in the ICT area, particularly giving broadband web.

Earlier, both PM also held a meeting for 45 minutes.

Foreign Minister Dr. AK Abdul Momen, Principal Secretary Dr. Ahmad Kaikaus, Foreign Secretary Masud Bin Momen, and Ambassador of Bangladesh to Bhutan AKM Shahidul Karim were present from the Bangladesh side.

Ambassador of Bhutan to Bangladesh Rinchen Kuentsyl and chief of protocol Daso Ugyen Gongphel were present, among others, during the meeting.

PTA BETWEEN BANGLADESH, BHUTAN

Bangladesh on December 6, 2020, signed its maiden PTA with Bhutan to boost bilateral trade between the two countries. The PTA with Bhutan is the first such bilateral agreement Bangladesh signed with any country since independence in 1971.

Nearly 100 Bangladeshi items will get obligation-free access in Bhutan. These incorporate infant garments and dress extras, men's pants and shorts, coats, and jackets, jute and jute products, cowhide and calfskin merchandise, dry cell battery, fan, watch, potato, condensed milk, concrete, toothbrush, pressed wood, molecule board, mineral and carbonated water, green tea, squeezed orange, pineapple juice, and guava juice

Then, 34 Bhutanese items that will get obligation-free admittance to the Bangladeshi market including orange, apple, ginger, organic product juice, milk, regular nectar, wheat or Maslin flour, homogenized arrangements of jams, natural product jams, preserves, food preparation of soybeans, mineral water, wheat grain, quartzite, concrete clinker, limestone, wooden molecule sheets, and wooden furnishings.