Commerce Adviser Sk Bashir Uddin on Thursday said India's sudden cancellation of trans-shipment facilities will not cause any problem as the government will try to overcome the situation on its own.
“These (trans-shipment) facilities have been cancelled abruptly. I held a meeting with all relevant stakeholders yesterday. We do not feel this will create any major issue. We are taking all necessary steps to ensure that our own capacity and competitiveness are not hampered and that our exports continue without any logistical disruptions,” he said while talking to reporters at the Secretariat.
Regarding the measures taken following the cancellation, the adviser said, “I won’t share those with you at this moment. We are working to address structural and cost-related challenges to enhance our competitiveness. I don’t see any reason for concern here.”
Asked whether Bangladesh plans to send a formal letter to India regarding the cancellation, the adviser said, “We are not considering that at the moment.”
Responding to a question over the volume of exports that used India’s trans-shipment facilities, Bashir said, “Around 40,000 to 50,000 tonnes of goods used to be exported through Indian ports, particularly Delhi and Kolkata. These were primarily destined for European countries. We hope to quickly resolve this issue by strengthening our own capacity, InshaAllah.”
India on Tuesday abruptly cancelled the facility allowing Bangladeshi goods to be shipped to third countries using Indian territories under the trans-shipment arrangement.
Source: UNB
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