Boosting Bangladesh-India trade was on the agenda of a recent high-level event organised with IRU member FICCI, the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) in Bangladesh and the Federation of Freight Forwarders’ Associations in India (FFFAI).
Seamless transport connectivity between India and Bangladesh has the potential to increase national income by as much as 17% in Bangladesh and 8% in India, according to a recent World Bank report on transport integration in eastern South Asia.
The TIR system would support this by decreasing border congestion and cutting transport time and costs. With waiting times at borders between the two countries currently up to 10 days, there is a clear need for TIR, the only global transit solution, to smooth border crossing procedures.
All delegations echoed the view that, aside from boosting bilateral trade, Bangladesh’s accession to the United Nations TIR Convention would also lead to wider regional trade benefits.
India joined TIR in 2017, and with other major trading nations in the region eyeing TIR along with Bangladesh, the system will open more trade corridors and drive regional cooperation with Bhutan and Nepal.
TIR will also facilitate intermodal transport, connecting Bangladesh and India to markets in Central Asia, Europe and the Middle East.