Bangladesh and South Korea signed a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) granting preferential tariff treatment to 97 percent of Bangladeshi goods in the Korean market and 87 percent of South Korean goods exported to Bangladesh.
The agreement was signed Tuesday at the Commerce Ministry. Commerce Minister Khandaker Abdul Muktadir announced the details at a briefing after the CEPA Negotiation Conclusion Ceremony.
Muktadir said it was the government’s first CEPA, completed within five months of taking office, and had been reached quickly with one of the world’s largest economies. He said it would create new duty-free and preferential opportunities for Bangladeshi exports including ready-made garments, leather and leather goods, and jute and jute products.
South Korea has an economy of nearly US$2 trillion, or 2 lakh crore dollars, Muktadir said. He argued that a commercial partnership would create significant opportunities for Bangladesh, including benefits for imports of agricultural products, plastics and spare parts from South Korea.
Muktadir said Bangladesh aimed to become a US$1 trillion economy by 2034. Achieving that goal would require annual growth of 8 percent and greater foreign investment, which he said bilateral agreements such as CEPA could help attract.
South Korean Trade Minister Yeo Han-koo said the countries’ commercial relationship began through the textile sector 56 years ago. As the global economy moves toward product diversification, both countries need to broaden the goods they import and export, he said.
Yeo said he hoped Bangladesh’s new government would strengthen the economy and that the countries could work together in technology and supply-chain management. He said the agreement would encourage Korean companies to invest in Bangladesh under easier and more favorable conditions.
Commerce Ministry data put bilateral trade at about US$1.39 billion. Bangladesh exports roughly US$491.73 million in goods to South Korea and imports about US$902.90 million, leaving Bangladesh with a trade deficit of about US$411 million.
Bangladesh’s main exports to South Korea include ready-made garments, home textiles, leather and leather goods, footwear, pharmaceuticals, jute and jute products, frozen food and ceramics. Its main imports include iron and steel, industrial machinery, electrical equipment, plastics and plastic products, chemicals, and paper and paper products.
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report