MCCI President Latifur Rahman made the appeal as he was speaking to the small and medium enterprise business delegation of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) in Dhaka.

An 11-member Indian business delegation is now visiting Bangladesh to examine investment opportunities and enhance trade and commerce between the two countries.

Exports from India to Bangladesh amounted to US$1946.33 million in 2004-05 fiscal year while the total export from Bangladesh to India reached only $144.19 million in the same period, Rahman said calling for more exports to India from Bangladesh.

He also observed exports to India from Bangladesh should have reached $500 million to $600 million considering the amount of import from India to Bangladesh.

Rahman said business circles including the MCCI feel that Bangladesh's efforts to enter Indian market have been thwarted by various non-tariff and para-tariff barriers.

He underscored the need for removal of all non-tariff barriers for fruitful operation of the South Asian Free Trade Area (Safta).

Quoting the 15th survey of Comparative Investment-related Costs in 21 countries in Asia, Rahman said Bangladesh is showing declining cost of production.

According to the survey the infrastructure charges, office rent and the costs of utility and fuel are cheaper and taking into account the overall investment cost, Bangladesh fares well, he said.

The MCCI president also urged the Indian businessmen to invest in Bangladesh's SME sector, saying the government gives special policy support to investments in the sector.

The Indian delegation expressed interest to invest in agro-processing, pharmaceutical, ceramic and packaging industries.

The team underscored the need for making the investment process in Bangladesh easy and transparent.

The Indians also called for Bangladesh-India bilateral free trade agreement as they consider the FTA an important tool for enhancing trade and investment between the two countries.