India to buy 8 million items of garments from Bangladesh

New Delhi, July 22 (UNI) India today offered to buy eight million items of garments every year from Bangladesh which are in the sensitive list to deepen the India-Bangladesh economic partnership.

'' An MOU to give effect to these imports by India is now awaiting final approval by Bangladesh and I hope it can be signed very soon,'' said Minister of State for Commerce Jairam Ramesh at the launch of the India-Bangladesh Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Dhaka.

This could mean an additional earning of anywhere between 50-70 million dollar every year for Bangladesh, he added.

Mr Ramesh said that the SAFTA process has started and is proceeding forward on schedule.

''India is firmly committed to it, in spite of the fact that one member continues to deny us most-favoured nation (MFN) status which, is the very basis of the WTO and international trade,'' Mr Ramesh said.

Mr Ramesh also announced the advancement of dates in the reduction of import duties to zero for Least Developed Countries in South Asia from the original date of December 2008 to December 2007.

This, Mr Ramesh said, will benefit, Maldives, Bhutan, Nepal but most of all Bangladesh.

''From January 1, 2008, almost 86 per cent of Bangladesh's tariff lines will not attract any import duty by India,'' Mr Ramesh said.

He added that India was taking special care delist some items of export interest to Bangladesh from the sensitive list and said the process should be completed by the end of this year.

UNI