Sri Lanka’s Minister of Industry and Commerce Rishad Bathiudeen (second from  right) and Minister of Commerce of Bangladesh Tofail Ahmed (third from right) arrive for the 5th SL-Bangladesh Joint Economic Commission session

Sri Lanka’s Minister of Industry and Commerce Rishad Bathiudeen (second from  right) and Minister of Commerce of Bangladesh Tofail Ahmed (third from right) arrive for the fifth SL-B’Deshi Joint Economic Commission session at Cinnamon Lake Hotel on 9 November morning.

Talks to enhance bilateral trade between Sri Lanka and Bangladesh opened in Colombo today 9 November. The first Ministerial level talks to take place since the Dhaka round in 2012, the session focused on co-operation in  trade and industry, and specifically air services, tourism, shipping, and ITC.

“Today, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh are enjoying extremely strong trade and economic, cultural, financial and political relations,” said Minister of Industry and Commerce Rishad Bathiudeen, inaugurating the event at Cinnamon Lake, Colombo on the morning of 9 November. Minister Bathiudeen is leading the Lankan side at the fifth session of Joint Economic Cooperation (JEC) while the Bangladeshi side is led by Minister of Commerce of Bangladesh Tofail Ahmed. The JEC talks in Colombo have been organized by the Department of Commerce of Sri Lanka. Upon the close of 9 November morning inauguration event, the day long technical sessions commenced at Cinnamon Lake Hotel.

“Having regular forums in this nature would help both countries to build upon already existing deep rooted long-standing relations,” said Minister Bathiudeen, and added: “In fact today, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh are enjoying extremely strong trade and economic, cultural, financial and political relations, and sharing common views on many regional and international issues which are of interest and concern to the two countries. As we know, both our nations are members of regional groups such as SAFTA, APTA and BIMSTEC. Besides, we have a vast range of complementarities, which can be harnessed and transformed into tangible and mutually beneficial business alliances to complement the endeavours of two nations on achieving a balanced and sustainable development.”

The total bilateral trade that was at $ 48 m in 2010 has grown by more than two fold to $ 131 m by 2015. Sri Lanka’s exports to Bangladesh too saw a steady increase in the past five years. In 2013 it recorded the highest increase of 45% (compared to 2012). A greater portion of Lankan exports to Bangladesh is represented by cotton (26.1%) followed by man-made staple fibres (13.1%), plastic articles (12.1%) and knitted/crocheted fabrics (10.9%). Among Sri Lanka’s imports from Bangladesh are pharmaceuticals (31%), followed by rice (29.3%), electric accumulators (6.3%) and apparel and garments (6%). In 2015, import of pharmaceuticals has surged by 61% over 2014.

Bangladeshi Commerce Minister Ahmed explained the political changes back home. “I have brought several private sector representatives including reps from Bangladeshi Chamber for this session. We are keen to boost cooperation in service sector such as ICT as well.”

The Joint Economic Commission (JEC) is one of the main apex instruments that enable the two nations to discuss and resolve economic and trade matters pertaining to their respective interests. Under the Sri Lanka - Bangladesh Joint Committee for Economic & Technical Cooperation, the two countries agreed to extend co-operation in the areas of trade, commerce and industries. The 4th Session of JEC and Technical Cooperation between Sri Lanka - Bangladesh was held in Dhaka, Bangladesh in March 2012 at Ministerial Level.

Visiting Bangladesh Minister meets Malik Samarawickrama

​Bangladesh Minister of Commerce Tofail Ahmed and his delegation called on the Minister of Development Strategies and International Trade Malik Samarawickrama at the Ministry. They held bilateral talks to enhance trade activities between the two countries. Bangladesh High Commissioner in Sri Lanka Riyaz Hamidullah was also present at the discussions.