India and Bangladesh are likely to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on cooperation in textiles and jute, during a delegation level meet of the textiles ministers of the two countries in New Delhi on Monday.
Kavuru Sambasiva Rao, Union Minister for Textiles, will have a delegation level talks with the Bangladesh's Minister of Textile Abdul Latif Siddique on Monday, who is in the national capital for his India visit.
According to a media report, Bangladesh is set to sign an MoU with India to cooperate on textiles and jute sector through exchanging technologies. "We will sign the MoU on August 19," Textiles and Jute Secretary, Md Ashraful Moqbul told a leading news paper of Dhaka recently.
The MoU was supposed to be signed during the visit of Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in 2011, but both the parties could not reach an agreement, he said.
According to a statement of the Indian High Commission in Dhaka, Siddique will be visiting New Delhi on the invitation of his Indian counterpart.
"During the visit, the two Ministers would hold extensive talks on various issues involving the textile and jute sectors of the two countries," the statement said.
The MoU on Textiles provides for cooperation in fashion technology, skill exchange, and productivity enhancement; techno-commercial collaboration in development of textiles including upgrading and enhancing production efficiency, management techniques, training, R&D etc.; cooperation and facilitation in participation in trade exhibition and buyer-seller meet; making a provision for supply of agreed quantum of jute and jute goods from Bangladesh to India every year, reports media.
Textiles and jute accounted for more than 50 percent of Bangladesh's USD 563.93 million worth of exports made to India in financial year 2012-13.
India's better ties with Bangladesh have seen an increase in textile imports from that country; New Delhi has even allowed concessional tariff rates on textile products from Bangladesh.
In 2012-13 the exports from India have shown a growth of 35.78 percent to USD 5.1 billion and imports have shown a growth of 9.15 percent to USD 639.33 million. While the overall trade has shown a growth of 32.22 percent to USD 5.78 billion in FY'12-13.
