India plans to enhance trade with Bangladesh | Economic Times

New Delhi: India is adopting a multi-pronged strategy to enhance trade and business partnership with Bangladesh amid Beijing's recent efforts to woo Dhaka with duty-free access to its products.While Chinese trade concessions can push Bangladesh into a “dual deficit and debt trap”, India is activating various connectivity initiatives for seamless movement of Bangladeshi products to the landlocked northeastern states and other parts of India, ET has learnt.There is a major push to connectivity initiatives via sea ports, inland water transport, rail and highways that will enable Bangladesh to connect with Bhutan and Nepal markets too along with India, according to experts who focus on cross-border trade and connectivity issues. Both India and Bangladesh are undertaking various measures to restore the pre-1965 rail and other connectivity links.Last week’s decision to resume border trade via West Bengal despite opposition from the Mamata Banerjee government will help increase Bangladeshi exports to India after a hiatus, said sources. Foreign minister S Jaishankar on Wednesday wrote to his Bangladeshi counterpart reinforcing special ties.India had offered duty-free access to several Bangladeshi products a decade before the Chinese decision and that step helped reduce deficit in Dhaka’s trade with New Delhi, said a source while stating that India’s terms and conditions from trade concessions to loans are more favourable. Beijing has mulled over years before giving trade concessions to Dhaka and the step can push it towards a debt trap, said the above mentioned source.