Bangladesh inter-ministerial meeting backs in principle joining RCEP

Most present at the meeting were in favour of joining the RCEP. Officials from the Prime Minister's Office, the ministries of textiles and jute, agriculture, food, and fisheries and livestock, and the National Board of Revenue were present at the meeting.

"The inter-ministerial meeting, with some precautions, has made a decision in favour of Bangladesh joining the RCEP," Noor Md Mahbubul Haq, an additional secretary (FTA) of the commerce ministry who was authorised by the meeting to speak to the media, told a group of reporters.

As the agreement does not state anything about the accession process, Bangladesh needs to inquire whether it should file an application or follow a prescribed model to join the trade bloc led by China, commerce ministry additional secretary Noor Mohammad Mahbubul Haq told reporters.

Beginning July 1 this year, other countries can also apply to join the bloc. Sri Lanka and Hong Kong have already filed their applications.

The meeting also reviewed the commitments made by Vietnam, Bangladesh's trade rival, to join the bloc, according to media reports in the country.

Out of the countries with which Bangladesh is now negotiating to sign free trade agreements, six are part of RCEP, and a feasibility study has found higher probability of exports rising by $5 billion after joining this bloc.

A study by the country’s Tariff Commission was also mostly in favour of joining the trade bloc. According to its report, joining the RCEP will raise exports by 17.37 per cent, worth more than $5 billion.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DS)