DHAKA: The first meeting of much-talked Trade and Investment Cooperation Forum Agreement (TICFA) between the United States and Bangladesh is underway at a city hotel on Monday morning.

Commerce secretary Mahbub Ahmed is leading the 21-member Bangladesh team while 12-member US delegation joined the meeting under leadership of Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for South Asia Mike Delaney.

In his welcome speech, at the beginning of the maiden meet, Mahbub Ahmed highlighted several information of socio-economic development of Bangladesh.

Bangladesh wants to make reinstatement of Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) prime agenda of the first meeting of TICFA.

The United States – Bangladesh Trade and Investment Cooperation Forum Agreement (TICFA) was signed on November 25, 2013.  

TICFA is a mechanism for dealing with specific trade and investment issues.  The U.S.-Bangladesh TICFA seeks to further bolster annual two-way trade between the United States and Bangladesh, which exceeded $6 billion in 2013.

BDST: 1321 HRS, APR 28, 2014