Nazmul Ahsan

Two agreements on trade and investment are likely to be signed between Dhaka and Moscow during a bilateral consultation meeting to be held on November 3 in the Bangladesh Ministry of Foreign Affairs, diplomatic sources said.

An official delegation of Russia, headed by its deputy foreign minister, and the foreign secretary of Bangladesh will lead their respective sides at the talks.

The bilateral discussion will also highlight issues relating to cooperation in the areas of power, including nuclear plants, defence, trade

in services and duty-free market access of Bangladeshi products into the Russian markets, trade officials said.

The agreements likely to be signed between the two countries are - Agreement on Promotion and Reciprocal Protection of Investment and Agreement on Trade and Economic Cooperation, officials in the foreign ministry said.

An inter-ministerial meeting held on October 11 at the conference room of the foreign ministry has finalised the bilateral trade and other issues to be discussed at the bilateral consultation meeting, sources said.

Officials said Bangladesh and former Soviet Union signed both the trade and investment related agreements in the seventies, which now have gone out of relevance with the collapse of Soviet Union.

"We have to sign new agreements in the light of the present trade regime and investment needs,'' a top official in the foreign ministry said.

"Both the agreements are expected to be signed during the bilateral consultation meeting between Bangladesh and Russia."

Currently, trade is heavily tilted to Russia as Bangladesh exported goods worth $ 43.56 million and imported goods worth $ 303.17 million in 2008-2009, according to the statistics of the Export Promotion Bureau.

Major export items from Bangladesh to Russia include shrimp, jute yarn, tea, leather, motor parts, tobacco, woven garments, ceramic tableware, home textile and synthetic ropes.

On the other hand, major import items from Russia to Bangladesh include live animals, cereals, mineral products, chemical products, machinery and base metal.

Russia announced to provide duty-free market access to Bangladesh origin products to its markets in 2008 on non-reciprocal basis.. The assurance was given on the ground the country's least developed country status. However, their pledged market access has not yet taken place, trade officials said.

"We would raise the market access issue in the upcoming bilateral talks with Russia," a trade official, who is expected attend the meeting, told the FE.

"Hopefully, the issue would be considered by Russia as the Bangladesh mission office in Moscow has meanwhile pursued the Russian government towards giving a positive decision soon.

Dhaka will request Moscow at the talks to import manpower from the country under the cooperation of trade in services, sources said.

The meeting will seek enhanced state credit from Russia for power sector as more than 30 per cent country's power is being generated from Russian built power generation units in Ghorashal and Siddhirgonj, sources said.

Russian state credit since independence amounts to about $ 701.93 million, sources in the Economic Relations Division, said.

Bangladesh side will seek the cooperation from Russia in overhauling Ghorashal and Siddhirgonj and Ashugonj power plants.

Besides, Dhaka will request to establish a Technology University in the country at Russian initiative, the inter ministerial meeting decided.

The meeting also decided to seek cooperation from Russia in building capacity in strategic areas like energy, alternative energy, sea resource management, extraction of natural resources, sources said.

Bangladesh will seek Russian cooperation in the areas of advanced technologies in the fields of alternative renewable energy, such as hydro-power using rivers, solar power and power from sea waves, sources said further.

Dhaka may seek Russian cooperation in establishing a repair and overhaul facility center in Dhaka for tanks and Armoured Personnel Carriers (APCs), sources said.

Bangladesh and Russia signed a military-technical co-operation agreement in 1999.