At the meeting, both sides agreed to promote border trade and also to solve some obstacles to overcome in promoting the border trade between the two neighboring countries, he said.
The border trade between Burma and Bangladesh has declined as there are fewer export and import items traveling between the two countries every day.
"We submitted to him that we wanted to export salt and rice to Bangladesh, and also told him we want to extend our trade to Chittagong Port, not only Teknaf."
In the border trade, Burmese merchants are only able to use the Teknaf border port to transport goods to Bangladesh, and can't utilize Chittagong, the largest port city in the country. The businessmen would like access to Chittagong Port in order to extend their business.
"If we have the chance to use the Port of Chittagong, we can extend our trade widely. We are now importing cement from Bangladesh to Burma through Teknaf. We want to import cement through Chittagong Port in order to save on transportation costs and time. We also plan to import iron for use in construction from Bangladesh, so we need the Chittagong Port to upgrade the border trade," the businessman said.
Arakanese businessmen also submitted a request to the Bangladesh ambassador that they be permitted to import iron for construction from Bangladesh to Burma.
"The ambassador agreed to fulfill our demand regarding the border trade and said he would reply to us after he discussed it with the concerned Bangladesh authorities," he added.
Burma currently exports no more than ten items to Bangladesh, including turmeric, fish, rice, Zitawfi, cattle, timber, and dried fish. Just cement and orchids or lilies are currently officially imported from Bangladesh to Burma.
After the meeting, the Bangladesh ambassador visited the Bangladesh Consulate in Sittwe.
Source: www.narinjara.com
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