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Dhaka may sign FTA deal in July

Morshed says Bangladesh very much in the BIMST-EC

Staff Correspondent
Bangladesh may sign the BIMST-EC framework agreement on a free trade area during or before the July summit in Bangkok, Foreign Minister M Morshed Khan said yesterday brushing aside the worry' that Dhaka was apparently left out of the deal.
"There is option for Dhaka to sign the agreement at any lime as per its wish.. .we will try our best to sign the deal before the BIMST-EC summit. If that does not happen, then it must be signed during the summit," he added.
"All states except Bangladesh signed the framework agreement, but there is a provision that any member can join the deal anytime. So there is nothing to worry about. There is no room for misunderstanding. We have lost nothing," he said.
Speaking at a briefing in the foreign ministry, Morshed said
Bangladesh could not sign the agreement at the ministerial meet in the Thai resort town of Phuket as tlie cabinet did not endorse it in its January 31 meeting and as some formalities were incomplete.
"We could not have signed the framework deal even if we had reached 100 percent consensus on the agreement because our cabinet did not approve it and other procedural agreement," he added.
The foreign minister said the commerce ministry placed only a summary of the agreement before the cabinet, but did not enclose the copy of the draft agreement with it, which prompted the cabinet to send the proposal back ufthe ministry.
Highly placed sources said Bangladesh was not ready to sign the agreement due to the cabinet’s non-approval. Officials said cabinet approval is mandatory before any international, regional or bilateral agreement is signed. They said Bangladesh could not sign the deal at the Phuket ministerial as the commerce ministry failed to act in time.
The foreign minister said he explained to the Phuket meeting Bangladesh's inability to sign the deal at the moment. All member states have accepted the explanation and given Dhaka the option to sign itwheneveritwantsto.
He also said the member states agreed to amend the FTA deal and resolve issues, if need be, when Bangladesh decides to sign it.
Morshed said Bangladesh played a vital role in the BIMST-EC since its inception and advanced the cause of the least developed countries (LDCs). Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan and Myanmar have been listed in the seven-member grouping as LDCs.
Khan claimed Dhaka raised around half a dozen issues to derive additional benefits and facilities for the LDCs and three to four of them have already been resolved.
However, he admitted that the issue of compensation for any revenue loss due to eventual dropping of tariffs remained unresolved, but hoped that it would be solved through discussion.
On why Nepal, Bhutan and Mayanmar did not wait for Bangladesh although it advocated for the LDCs, Morshed said every-
body was in a hurry to boost trade and investment.
On why Bangladesh was not in a hurry, he said there is 'enough time' for Bangladesh as the agreement comes into force from 2006.
Initially, the grouping was limited to five states - Bangladesh, India, Myanmar, Sri Lanka and Thailand, while Nepal and Bhutan joined it recently.
He ruled out the possibility of any harm to bilateral ties with any member states due to Dhaka's nonsigning of the agreement. He also ruled out any chance of a complete pullout from the grouping.
Morshed said the ministerial adopted a joint statement, which said the grouping would work towards trilateral highway linkage among Bangladesh, Myanmar and Thailand on coastal shipping, human resource development, management and sustainable utilisation of fisheries resources in the Bay of Bengal.
If three of the member states take up a development plan like the trilateral highway, it will be considered a BIMST-EC project. So, Bangladesh's plan to construct highway with Myanmar and Thailand and India's plan to construct a similar highway with Myanmar and Thailand will be considered as BIMST-EC projects.