Bangladesh High Commissioner Meets Barak Exporters to Boost Cross-Border Trade

A CORRESPONDENT

SILCHAR: M Riyaz Hamidullah, Bangladesh High Commissioner in India, along with Zikrul Hasan Fahad, Assistant High Commissioner stationed in Guwahati, met exporters here in Silchar on Tuesday night. The meeting focused mainly on regularising export-import trade between the two neighbouring countries, which was at a standstill following the coup in Dhaka that saw the ouster of the former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina as well as political unrest since August 2024.

The Sutarkandi Trade Centre in Sribhumi has remained virtually paralysed since then, affecting trading.

The Bangladesh delegation was given a warm reception by the Cachar district administration. Hamidullah and Fahad were ceremonially received by ADC Arunabha Choudhury. Later at the DC conference hall, the Bangladesh delegation met the exporters of Barak Valley who forwarded several proposals to smoothen the trading process.

In the meeting, the exporters reportedly proposed to extend the scheduled time for vehicles from the Indian side to cross the border, while the Bangladesh delegation urged the Assam Government to lift the ban on Bangladeshi goods.

Following the installation of the elected government led by the BNP in Dhaka, international trade between the neighbouring countries had normalised to a great extent at the Meghalaya and West Bengal border check gates. However, trading through the Sutarkandi border was yet to be normalised, which had affected the exporters of Barak Valley.

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