The Dhaka-Delhi trade and commercial relations are growing at a “substantial pace”, the Indian high commissioner in Bangladesh has said.

“Bangladesh is now India’s biggest trade partner in South Asia,” Harsh Vardhan Shringla said on Thursday at the opening of the fourth Indo-Bangla trade fair.

The India-Bangladesh Chamber of Commerce and Industry (IBCCI) organised the three-day show at the Pan Pacific Sonargoan Hotel in Dhaka where more than 60 companies from both the countries are showcasing their products.

The high commissioner said in the last 15 years “Bangladesh’s exports to India have grown tenfold and India’s exports to Bangladesh have grown six times”.

The total bilateral trade in 2015-16 was worth $6.14 billion.

He said companies from both India and Bangladesh are also exploring “new opportunities” for investing and setting up joint ventures in each other’s country.

Indian investments registered with Bangladesh Investment Development Authority are more than $3 billion.

“Indian companies such as Marico, CEAT, Tata Motors, Godrej, Sun Pharma, Asian Paints etc have made substantial investments in the country,” he said.

Several of these companies are also participating in this fair.

“Around $11 billion of investments from India in the power, LNG and port sectors in Bangladesh are in the pipeline,” High Commissioner Shringla said.

India has also been offered sites by Bangladesh for setting up Special Economic Zones exclusively for Indian companies to invest.

He said the India-Bangladesh chamber has been playing “an important role” in promoting trade and commercial ties between the two countries.

The chamber organised the fair first in 2010.

  Bangladesh, business