Bangladesh urges quick implementation of FTA and PTA frameworks in D-8 bloc

Bangladesh has urged the quick finalisation and implementation of the frameworks for a free trade agreement (FTA) and a preferential trade agreement (PTA) among member states of the D-8 bloc of developing countries. Dhaka also stressed increasing mutual tariff benefits, removing trade barriers and restructuring the bloc to make it more effective.

Commerce Minister Khandaker Abdul Muktadir presented Bangladesh's position at a bilateral meeting with D-8 Secretary General Sohail Mahmood in Istanbul, Turkey, on Monday. The meeting was held on the sidelines of the 42nd ministerial meeting of the OIC Standing Committee for Economic and Commercial Cooperation (COMCEC). The commerce ministry announced the information in a press release.

According to the ministry, the talks centred on removing existing obstacles to increasing trade among member countries and strengthening economic cooperation. Increasing tariff benefits and easing trade were also discussed.

The commerce minister said that in the current global economic context it is essential to increase trade and investment among D-8 member countries. For this, he said, the D-8 secretariat must play an active role in quickly finalising and implementing the FTA and PTA frameworks. He also requested stronger coordination among member countries.

Alongside implementing the agreements, Khandaker Abdul Muktadir also emphasised increasing the institutional effectiveness of the bloc, highlighting the need to restructure the D-8 and adopt result-based activities to make it more meaningful.

In response, D-8 Secretary General Sohail Mahmood assured that Bangladesh’s proposals to increase economic cooperation and trade among member countries would be considered positively, the commerce ministry said.

Sohail Mahmood, a former foreign secretary of Pakistan, took charge as D-8 secretary general on 1 January this year. The D-8 was formed in Istanbul in 1997 with Bangladesh, Egypt, Indonesia, Iran, Malaysia, Nigeria, Pakistan and Turkey. Azerbaijan joined the bloc in 2024. The bloc’s secretariat is in Istanbul.

Senior officials from Bangladesh and the D-8 secretariat were present at the meeting. The commerce minister is currently visiting Turkey to attend the COMCEC ministerial meeting.