Bangladesh has agreed to ink the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), a free trade agreement that will boost economic ties between the two countries, with India.

The announcement was made by Commerce Minister Tofail Ahmed at a press conference today after a meeting with visiting Indian delegation led by his counterpart Suresh Prabhu in Dhaka.

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Suresh Prabhu assured that India, upon request of Bangladesh, is working to withdraw the anti-dumping duty on Bangladesh’s jute and jute-made products.

Also, the two countries will be implementing six more border haats, an initiative dubbed by the World Bank as exemplary steps to regional trade, along bordering areas of the two countries.

Notably, Bangladesh’s trade gap with India is heavily lopsided towards India. According to statistics, last fiscal, the gap was over US $7.7 billion.