Bangladesh commerce minister Tofail Ahmed has sought duty-free benefit from Thailand for 36 more products, including garments and medicine. Currently, Thailand provides duty-free access to 6,998 Bangladeshi items. However, garments that account for 81 per cent of Bangladesh's total exports are not on the list of these products.
In 2016-17, Bangladesh exported products worth $48.57 million to Thailand and imported products worth $781.6 million from the country, according to the commerce ministry. Meanwhile Thailand has expressed a keen interest to invest in Bangladesh's infrastructure, power, energy and other potential sectors.