India’s new High Commissioner to Bangladesh Vikram Doraiswami today said initiatives will be taken for agro-machinery manufacturers in India to set up their factories in Bangladesh and invest locally in manufacturing and assembling agro-machinery and retail equipment.

“Steps will be taken so Indian agro-machineries manufacturing companies, including the world’s largest tractors manufacturer — Mahindra and Mahindra — would come here for investment in manufacturing agro-machineries locally,” Doraiswami said, reports BSS.

He said this while calling on Agriculture Minister Abdur Razzaque at the latter’s office at the Secretariat.

The agriculture minister said Bangladesh was rapidly moving towards mechanisation and modernisation of agriculture, pointing out the recent government initiative of an farm mechanisation project worth around Tk 3,000 crore.

By 2025, Bangladesh will need a lot of agricultural machinery and Indian manufacturers have many opportunities to invest in Bangladesh.

The minister said the country was lagging behind India in processing and marketing of agricultural products and therefore the neighbour’s cooperation was needed in this regard.

Razzaque also sought India’s cooperation in training of scientists, in the supply of seed technology, BT cotton, maize, and in milk and agro processing.

During the meeting, the Indian high commissioner also said onion exports to Bangladesh will increase further if the weather in India improves.

He said India had imposed the ban on onion exports to Bangladesh due to a shortage of the vegetable and rise in its domestic prices following floods and heavy rains in Maharashtra and Karnataka.

The Indian envoy said India has recently allowed the export of 20,000 tonnes of onions to Bangladesh.

Reference and Collected from: The Daily Star