India, Bangladesh ink trade deals

India and Bangladesh on Monday signed two agreements to further cement their trade and investment ties as External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee hailed the recent upward swing in bilateral relations.

Mukherjee and Bangladesh Industry Minister Dilip Barua inked the Bilateral Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement which is expected to help a large number of Indian firms working on various turnkey projects Dhaka.

The Indian Minister and Bangladesh Commerce Minister Mohammad Farukh Khan signed a Trade Agreement to further boost bilateral commerce which amounted to $3.631 billion for 2007-08.

Mukherjee said India-Bangladesh relations have witnessed an upward swing in the recent past.

"We, on our part, have tried to sustain this engagement by taking several important steps, including unilateral gestures to Bangladesh," he said.

He said he was aware of the trade imbalances between the two countries and the two sides would soon convene a meeting of the Joint Commission to discuss the matter and set targets for the future.

Mukherjee said he had sought from Bangladesh government a list of items on which it is interested in increasing trade.

"I have requested (the Bangladeshi side) to give me a list on which Bangladesh government is interested so that we can further prune the negative list."