Metropolis Desk-
Bangladesh is set to reduce its dependence on the US dollar in foreign trade by using the rupee for bilateral transactions with India starting July 11.
This move may help importers by allowing them to open letters of credit in the rupee to source a portion of their products from the neighboring country.
The government has tightened import rules due to the shortage of American greenback and the depletion of the foreign currency reserve.
The Bangladesh Bank and the Indian High Commission are expected to announce the move towards the Indian currency at an event in Dhaka on Tuesday.
The new arrangement will allow Bangladesh to perform foreign trades with India equivalent to its current annual export receipts.
Bangladesh’s imports from India outweigh its exports, with exports at $2 billion against $18 billion through official channels.
If trades through the unofficial channel are added, imports would increase to $27 billion.
