Bay of Bengal states seek free-trade pact

COLOMBO, Mar 9 (AFP) - Commerce ministers from five countries around the Bay of Bengal Friday called for a free-trade pact to boost regional economic cooperation. The ministers from Bangladesh, India, Myanmar, Sri Lanka and Thailand set up a group of experts to work out the details and ensure a framework treaty by February next year, Sri Lanka's Commerce Minister Ravi Karunanayake said. "We are positive that we can move towards an FTA (free-trade agreement)," Karunanayake told reporters after the one-day ministerial meet. "We are looking to the future and we see a lot of possibilities." The BIMST-EC (Bangladesh, India, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Thailand Economic Cooperation) ministers also agreed to look at relaxing visa restrictions for businesspeople travelling between member states. They will also ask their ambassadors to work closely in Geneva to ensure a common position on World Trade Organisation issues, Karunanayake said.