The government has formed an 18-member high-powered delegation to attend the upcoming 9th WTO (World Trade Organisation) Ministerial Conference to be held in Indonesian resort city Bali on December 3-6. Commerce Minister GM Kader will lead the delegation at the multilateral trade talks. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has approved the composition of the delegation last week.
Seven members of the trade delegation have been included from the private sector while the rest are bureaucrats and diplomats.
No researchers or experts from private sector or research organisation have been included in the official delegation, unlike previous WTO Ministerial meetings, sources said.
The delegation members from the public sector are—Mahbub Ahmed, Secretary, Ministry of Commerce (MoC), Md Shahidul Haque, Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Md Ghulam Hussain, Chairman, National Board of Revenue, Shubhashish Basu, Vice-Chairman, Export Promotion Bureau, Amitabh Chakrabarty, Director General, WTO Cell, MoC, Nesar Ahmed, Director, WTO Cell,
MoC, Md Abdul Hannan, Permanent Representative, Bangladesh Mission, Geneva, Bijoy Bhattachariya, Economic Minister, Bangladesh Mission, Geneva, Md Nazmul Kawnain, Ambassador, Bangladesh Embassy, Jakarta and Dr. Mostafa Abid Khan, Director, Bangladesh Foreign Trade Institute.
The business personalities included in the delegation are : Monoara Hakim Ali, Vice-President, Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI), Arshad Zamal Dipu, Director, Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA), AH Aslam Sani, Second Vice-President, Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA), Jahangir Alamin, President, Bangladesh Textile Mills Association (BTMA), Md Sabur Khan, President, Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry and representatives from Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MCCI) and International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) in Bangladesh.
The prime focus of Bangladesh delegation would be to pursue the WTO members, particularly those of the developed nations, to grant duty-free and quota-free market access of products originating from least developed countries including Bangladesh, Mahbub Ahmed told New Age.
-With New Age input