Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi gave his support on Sunday to a Bangladeshi proposal to invest $25 million in selling Bangladeshi garments in India, the main Bangladeshi business group said. Modi, on the second and final day of a state visit to India's eastern neighbour, had promised on Saturday to help to reduce India's huge trade surplus with Bangladesh.
In a meeting on Sunday, the Federation of Bangladesh Chamber of Commerce and Industry told Modi it was seeking 50 acres (20 hectares) of land either free of cost or at a nominal price in the Indian state of Gujarat.
"We told him that we want to set up warehouses and retail shops, and for that we will invest $25 million. The purpose is to sell and distribute our garments products directly," said Matlub Ahmed, president of the Chamber. "If we get this facility, then our sale will rise to $1 billion from the present $300 million in the next three years."
After the meeting, he told Reuters that Modi had promised "all co-operation and support" for the proposal.
Bangladeshi exports were worth $24 billion in the fiscal year that ended in June 2014.
The textile industry is an important contributor to the economy, with duty-free access to Western markets having helped to make Bangladesh the world's largest apparel exporter after China. But the industry, which supplies many Western brands such as Wal-Mart, Tesco and H&M, has faced pressure after a string of fatal factory accidents, including a building collapse in 2013 that killed more than 1,130 people.
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