Dhaka: Commerce minister Tofail Ahmed on Saturday called upon India to lift anti-dumping duty on Bangladeshi jute goods.

"India should consider the issue with sympathy," he said speaking as the chief guest at a discussion meeting on 'Unity in Diversity in India' in Dhaka.

Bangladesh-India Friendship Association (BIFA) organized the discussion meeting at Institution of Diploma Engineers auditorium.

Presided over by BIFA President Prof. Dr. AK Azad Chowdhury, the meeting was addressed by Indian High Commissioner Harsh Vardhan Shringla, Dhaka University Teachers Association (DUTA) President ASM Maksud Kamal, Ekattor Television Chief Editor and Managing Director Mozammel Huq Babu and BIFA Secretary General Subir Kushari, among others, said an official release.

Tofail Ahmed said Bangladesh exports goods worth only US$ 600 million to India against Indian export of US$ 6 billion goods to Bangladesh. Among the goods, jute is not very significant and there will be not harm to a big country like India, if it withdraws anti-dumping tax on Bangladeshi jute goods, he added.

Bangladesh is giving duty-free and quota-free facilities to all Indian goods, except tobacco and wine, but India is taking 12 percent countervailing taxes from goods exported from Bangladesh, the commerce minister said, adding that in a move, India imposed US$ 329 anti-dumping tax on the export of jute goods.

Bangladesh will hold discussions on the issue in the open forum, he said and requested the India envoy to convey the matter to his government.

Referring to the contribution of India during the Liberation War, Tofail Ahmed said India is a close friend and its cooperation could never be forgotten. 

All bilateral problems between the two countries have been resolved through discussions, he added.