Bangladesh`s State Minister for Shipping, Khalid Mahmud Chowdhury, accompanied by Bhutan`s Phuentsholing Governor, Karmi Jarmi, paid a visit to Pasakha Land Port, focusing on enhancing trade ties between two nations.
The discussions centered around strategies to bolster trade cooperation. Additionally, the minister is scheduled to inspect the Kakarvitta border in Nepal this coming Saturday.
During his visit to Panchagarh on Friday morning, Minister Chowdhury assessed the current infrastructure, potential, and challenges of land routes with the goal of facilitating increased import and export activities. Subsequently, he proceeded to the Phulbari land port in Jalpaiguri, India, in order to evaluate the border facilities with Bhutan at Phuentsholing.
Accompanying the minister were Md. Zillur Rahman Chowdhury, Chairman of the Bangladesh Land Port Authority, Munshi Md. Moniruzzaman, Joint Secretary of the Ministry of Shipping, Ziauddin Ahmed Bhuiyan, Part-time member of the Board of Directors of Bangladesh Land Port Authority, and M Hasan Ali, Supervising Engineer of Land Port Authority.
Currently, trade activities between Bangladesh and Bhutan, as well as Nepal, are conducted via the Banglabandha land port in Panchagarh through India. Efforts have been underway to establish a separate alliance involving Bangladesh, India, Bhutan, and Nepal, independent of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), to foster enhanced interstate relations, regional cooperation, and trade. The formation of such an alliance is expected to significantly boost land-based import and export activities among these countries.
