Trade between Bangladesh and India in Indian rupee was inaugurated in a ceremony in Dhaka on Tuesday.

The inaugural ceremony was jointly organised by Bangladesh Bank and High Commission of India in Dhaka ay at Le Méridien Dhaka in the capital.

Bangladesh Bank governor Adbur Rouf Talukder attended the programme as the chief guest.

Senior commerce secretary Tapan Kanti Ghosh, Indian high commissioner in Dhaka Pranay Verma and Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry president Jashim Uddin, among others, were present.

‘India and Bangladesh have witnessed a significant expansion in bilateral trade over the years. The trade position between India and Bangladesh has seen remarkable growth, with both countries benefiting from their economic cooperation,’ said the BB governor.

The Indian high commissioner mentioned that Bangladesh is India’s biggest trade partner in South Asia and the fifth largest globally.

Two export letters of credit from Bangladesh’s two businesses — Tamim Agro and Shahjahan Mia — involving a total of 28 million Indian rupee and two import LCs involving 12 million Indian rupee by Nita Company and Abdul Matlub Ahmad were handed over by four participating banks — Sonali Bank, Eastern Bank of Bangladesh and India’s State Bank of India and ICIC Bank — at the event.

According to BB officials, trade settlement through Indian rupee will only apply to export amount from Bangladesh while the rest of imports from India will be settled in dollar.

The arrangement will enable Bangladeshi exporters to receive export proceeds in rupees, which will then be used for import bill settlement.

The BB governor on June 18 claimed that trading in Indian rupee would benefit Bangladesh as it would reduce dollar dependency to some extent.

On July 11, 2022, the Reserve Bank of India had issued a notification on July 11, 2022, allowing settlement of international trade in Indian rupee.

Bangladesh exports worth about $2 billion to India while imports are worth nearly $16 billion.