US creates task force to target unfair trade practices

US President Barack Obama has created a new trade task force to investigate and crack down on unfair practices by American trading partners.

The move comes amid concerns that unfair trading practices, especially by China, were harming US businesses.

Policymakers have accused Beijing of keeping its currency artificially low in a bid to help China's exporters.

The International Trade Enforcement Center will aim to ensure US businesses have "a level playing field."

"Robust monitoring and enforcement of US rights under international trade agreements, and enforcement of domestic trade laws, are crucial to expanding exports," the executive order signed by President Obama said.

Growing tensions

Trade relations between the US and China have been under strain in recent years.

While the US economy has slowed, China has witnessed robust growth powered by the success of its manufacturing and export sectors.

However, US policymakers and businesses have accused China of giving an unfair advantage to its exporters by keeping the yuan's value low, a move which makes Chinese goods cheaper to foreign buyers.

At the same time, some sectors such as the solar panel industry have argued that Chinese manufacturers have benefited from government subsidies which helps them keep their costs low.

President Obama said the US was working to ensure that its partners abide by international trade rules.

He said the new unit will "bring the full resources of the federal government to bear to investigate and counter unfair trade practices around the world, including by countries like China."

BD Express 24 Hours: Syria unrest: Military 'advancing in Homs'

BD Express 24 Hours: Syria unrest: Military 'advancing in Homs': The Syrian army is advancing on opposition positions in Homs, which has been under artillery bombardment for nearly a month, reports say....

Syria unrest: Military 'advancing in Homs'

The Syrian army is advancing on opposition positions in Homs, which has been under artillery bombardment for nearly a month, reports say.

Security officials in Damascus said the besieged district of Baba Amr would be "cleaned" within the next few hours.

Residents of Homs have long said they believe a ground assault is imminent, but the scale of the operation remains unclear.

It comes amid reports of a new draft UN resolution on the crisis.

The draft, which is still in its early stages, focuses on humanitarian aid for Syria, in the hope both China and Russia, which have opposed previous votes, will back it.

Although diplomats said the move was in the early stage, China said it supported "creating conditions" for humanitarian aid to be sent.

A UN meeting on Tuesday was told more than 7,500 had died in the 11 months of protest against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

'Fierce confrontations'

Fresh shelling was reported in Homs on Wednesday morning, a day after more than 100 people were killed, rights groups said. Power to many areas of the city is said to have been cut.

Continue reading the main story

Trapped Journalists

Edith Bouvier

Thirty-one-year-old reporter for French daily Le Figaro and Radio France Internationale. Sustained a broken femur in the attack which killed US war correspondent Marie Colvin and French photographer Remi Ochlik.

William Daniels

The 34-year-old Paris-based photographer specialises in documenting humanitarian crises. He is represented by the London-based Panos agency and is working with Ms Bouvier on an assignment for Le Figaro.

Javier Espinosa

Spanish daily El Mundo's Middle East correspondent. He began working for the paper in 1994, covering the Rwandan genocide. Has also reported from Mexico and Morocco for the paper. In 1999, he was kidnapped and held for 48 hours by rebels in Sierra Leone.

An unnamed security official told AFP news agency that Baba Amr was now "under control".

"The army has started combing the area building by building and house by house. Now the troops are searching every basement and tunnel for arms and terrorists," he said.

The Associated Press also quoted an official as saying the district would be "cleaned" within hours.

One activist in the city, Mohammad al-Homsi, told Reuters that infantry was moving towards the al-Bassel football stadium just north Baba Amr, and that "fierce confrontations with automatic rifles and heavy machine-guns are taking place there".

The BBC's Jim Muir, reporting from Beirut, says communications with Homs appear to have been cut.

Some activists had told the BBC on Tuesday night that government forces were only about 1km from the press centre which was shelled on 22 February and that they expected to be attacked within hours.

But our correspondent says it remains to be seen whether the latest manoeuvres are the big push into Homs that has been expected.

Two foreign journalists were killed in that blast and three other journalists caught up in it - Edith Bouvier, William Daniels and Javier Espinosa - are still believed to be trapped there.

Sunday Times photographer Paul Conroy was smuggled out to Lebanon on Tuesday in an operation that left 13 Syrian opposition activists dead.

Aid push

The new draft UN Security Council resolution, being drawn up by the US and France, seeks access for humanitarian aid workers and an end to violence.

The humanitarian situation in Homs is believed to be deteriorating

One diplomat told Reuters the draft had been circulated among "a small circle of like-minded countries".

Another diplomat told AFP: "This resolution will concentrate on humanitarian access to the cities, but it will indicate that the government is the cause of the crisis."

The aim is to make it hard for Russia and China, who are opposed to what they say is forced regime change, to use their veto.

On 4 February China and Russia blocked a UN resolution backing an Arab plan condemning the crackdown and calling on Mr Assad to step down.

China's Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi indicated his country was in favour of creating the conditions for aid to be sent.

Speaking to the head of the Arab League, Nabil Elaraby, over the phone, Mr Yang said China was willing to work with the Arab nations for ''a peaceful and proper settlement of the Syria issue'', the official Xinhua news agency reported.

"The international community should create favourable conditions in this regard and provide humanitarian aid to Syria," Xinhua quoted him as saying.

China's has accused the West of pursuing "hegemonistic ambitions" in Syria under the guise of "humanitarian concern", and correspondents say it remains far from clear whether Beijing will or will not veto any new Security Council resolution.

Wonders of nanotechnology

Al-Nakib Chowdhury

There's an unprecedented multidisciplinary convergence of scientists dedicated to the study of a world so small, one can't see it - even with a light microscope. That world is the field of nanotechnology, the realm of atoms and nanostructures. Nanotechnology refers broadly to a technology whose unifying theme is the control of matter on the scale, generally 100 nanometers or smaller, and the fabrication of devices with critical dimensions that lie within that size range (Lakhtakia 2004). Materials reduced to the nanoscale can suddenly show very different properties compared to what they exhibit on a macroscale; for example, opaque substances become transparent (copper), inert materials become catalysts (platinum, gold), stable materials turn combustible (aluminum), solids turn into liquids at room temperature (gold), insulators become conductors (silicon) that means that the behavior of substances at the nanoscale can sometimes contradict common sense by behaving erratically.

The unusual behaviors enable unique applications of these nanomaterials. Nanotechnology today is growing very rapidly and has infinite applications in almost everything we do - the medicine we take, food we eat, chemicals we use, car we drive and much more. Nanotechnology is an expected future manufacturing technology that will make most products lighter, stronger, cleaner and less expensive. Future nanotechnology is likely to change the way almost everything around our life.

One nanometer (nm) is one billionth, or 10-9 of a meter. Basically, it is about the width of 3 to 4 atoms. The comparative size of a nanometer to a meter is the same as that of a marble to the size of the earth.

WHY NANOPARTICLES BEHAVE THE WAY THEY DO?

-At nano scale, the properties of materials change tremendously because of the large surface-to-volume ratio and changes in the quantum mechanical behavior of materials.

-The enormous surface area of nanomaterials facilitates their interaction with other substances, giving the nanomaterials unique properties such as exceptional strength or greater chemical activity.

Nanotechnology is likely to change the way almost everything: like Medicine, Food, Agriculture, Environment, Energy, Computer, Car etc.

The somewhat speculative claims about the possibility of using nanorobots in medicine; researchers say, would totally change the world of medicine once it is realized.

Introduced into the body, to repair or detect damages and infections.

In the process of constant advancement in auto technology, car makers are pondering on manufacturing environment-friendly vehicles utilizing nanotechnology.

Nano Agriculture: Nanofertilizer, nano encapsulated pesticides, acceleration of photosynthesis, biosensor .

Tomato plants sprout earlier and grow faster. carbon nanotubes that increase the germination percentage and support and enhance the growth of seedlings. The carbon nanaotubes are able to penetrate the thick seed coat to support water uptake inside the seeds.

Afghan ministry employee suspected in UN killing

Hamid KarzaiAgencies, Kabul

Afghanistan's interior ministry said yesterday one of its employees is suspected of shooting dead two US officers inside its headquarters a day earlier, an attack that prompted Nato to recall all its staff from ministries.

Afghan security sources identified Abdul Saboor, a 25-year-old police intelligence officer, as a suspect in the shooting of the Americans at close range deep inside the interior ministry.

CCTV footage showed that Saboor had access to the command and control centre, tucked deep inside the ministry, where the slain Americans were found, security officials told Reuters on condition of anonymity.

The Taliban took responsibility for the attack, saying it was in retaliation for the burning of the Qurans.

The attack took place on Saturday as rage gripped the country for a fifth straight day over the burning of the Muslim holy book at a Nato base, despite an apology from US President Barack Obama.

Meanwhile, Afghan President Hamid Karzai went on television yesterday to appeal for calm after five days of violent anti-US protests across his country over the burning of the holy Qurans at a US military base.

Karzai "condemned with the strongest words" the treatment of Islam's holy book and said the perpetrators should be punished, but told his countrymen, "Now that we have shown our feelings it is time to be calm and peaceful."

The president said he respected the feelings of Afghans upset by the Quran burning, but called on them not to "let the enemies of Afghanistan misuse their feelings".

However, riots erupted again in Afghanistan yesterday, Reuters witnesses said, with thousands in northern provinces hoisting the white Taliban flag and throwing stones at police, who fired into the air to disperse the crowds.

A protester was killed and seven US soldiers were wounded in a grenade attack on their base in anti-American protests, police said as President Hamid Karzai called for calm.

The latest violence came as police hunted an intelligence official suspected of killing two US officers at the interior ministry -- which led to Nato pulling all its advisers out of government ministries.

Qatar named world's richest country

Qatar has been ranked as the world's wealthiest country in a new list compiled by the prestigious US magazine Forbes.

The Gulf State with a population of 1.7 million topped the list as the world's richest country per capita, thanks to a rebound in oil prices and its massive natural gas reserves.

Adjusted for purchasing power, Qatar booked an estimated gross domestic product per capita of more than $ 88,000 for 2010, Forbes said, compared with $ 47,500 for the UAE, which was placed sixth while Kuwait stood at 15th in the list.

Qatar, which will host the 2022 Football World Cup and is also in the running for the 2020 Olympic Games, has been a high-profile investor in recent times.

In second place on the list was Luxembourg, with a per capita GDP on a purchasing-power parity basis of just over $ 81,000.

In third place was Singapore, which thrives as a technology, manufacturing and finance hub with a GDP per capita of nearly $ 56,700.

To rank the countries, Forbes said it looked at GDP per capita adjusted for purchasing power for 182 nations. It used International Monetary Fund data from 2010.

Norway and Brunei rounded out the top five positions in the list followed by the UAE, the US, Hong Kong, Switzerland and the Netherlands.

A trio of politically and economically fragile African nations were listed as the poorest countries - Burundi, Liberia and the Democratic Republic of Congo, where GDPs per capita are $ 400, $ 386 and $ 312, respectively.

Bill placed in parliament for polls in two DCCs

Sangsad Bhaban : The Local Government (City Corporation) (Amendment) Bill, 2012 was introduced in Parliament Saturday, seeking to extend the time from 90 days to 180 days for holding elections to Dhaka North and Dhaka South city corporations.
On November 30, 2011, the parliament passed the Dhaka City Corporation (Amendment) Bill, 2011 splitting the capital city into Dhaka North City Corporation and Dhaka South City Corporation with a provision to hold the elections within 90 days.
State Minister for LGRD Jahangir Kabir Nanak introduced the bill in the House.
The House sent the bill to the standing committee on the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development (LGRD) for further scrutiny and asked the committee to submit its report within two working days.
Statement on the aim and objective of the bill says, since the last Election Commission in a memo on December 14, 2011 expressed its inability to announce the election schedule, it has become necessary to extend the time for holding the elections. 

Take effective steps to stop killing of journos

Dhaka: The visiting International Press Institute (IPI) boss Alison Bethel McKenzie urged the government to take timely and effective measures to stop attack on journalists with the view to ensuring freedom of mass media.
She underscored the need to either amend or abolish the existing law on libel with the aim to ensure freedom of speech and the press.
The Executive Director of the Vienna-based IPI viewed while discussing with the Information Minister Abul Kalam Azad at the ministry on Sunday.
Various issues relating to freedom of expression and mass media and roles of journalists come up for discussion during the meeting.
Manjurul Ahsan Bulbul, IPI Executive Board member, Editor in Chief of Boishakhi Television and also the chairman of Bangladesh Jatiya Committee was present at the meeting.
Information Minister Abul Kalam Azad said that Bangladesh's media have been working independently and enjoying full freedom under the present government.
He mentioned that an information commission has been formed to implement the Right to Information Law made in the first session of the ninth parliament in 2009 with the aim to ensuring free flow of information.
About libel law the minister said that in connection with defamation case the existing law only allows summoning the accused writer or journalist for making libelous comment or writing derogatory report against somebody instead of issuing arrest warrant.
He also pointed out that work is going on to form welfare fund for the journalists. The minister added that the government has been taking prompt action in case of attack, torture and killing of journalists.

PM bashes BNP for its role during BDR mutiny

Dhaka: Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Sunday alleged that all but BNP and Jamaat had lent their support to efficiently tackle the BDR mutiny.
"All except BNP and Jamaat had extended their support to the government in tackling the BDR mutiny on February 25-26, 2009," she told a meeting with the party's leaders from Comilla (South) district at her official residence Ganobhaban.
The meeting was arranged as part of her ongoing views-exchange meetings with Awami League's grassroots leaders.
The Prime Minister mentioned that two hours before the BDR mutiny the opposition leader had gone out of her cantonment residence for an unknown location. "Why did she go under ground, what was in her mind?" Hasina questioned adding that the opposition leader has not yet come up with any answer.
Claiming that the government tackled the situation efficiently, Hasina said had it failed to tackle the mutiny tactfully more dead bodies would have littered across the city. "If we had failed to tackle the situation delicately the city would have seen more dead bodies." 
Hasina said the trial of BDR mutiny at 45 places of the country has completed and those found guilty have been punished. "The trial of mutiny has completed and now the trial of killing is going on." 
The Prime Minister said Khaleda Zia like her husband always tries to come to state power by putting the gun on the shoulder of the army. She also mentioned that BNP and Khaleda Zia are now siding with the anti-liberation forces and trying hard to save them. "The intention of BNP and Jamaat is crystal clear…they want the nation to bow down to others.
The Prime Minister again took a swipe at the journalists saying that nowadays the media people are writing at their sweat will no matter what is right and what is wrong.
"After the 2001 national election, the journalists did not enjoy freedom. They used to receive invisible advice before writing," the Prime Minister said.
At that time, she said, 16 journalists were killed across the country, but the media people failed to write about those.

SAGAR-RUNI MURDER Token pen down strike in media today

Dhaka : Journalists will observe countrywide token pen down strike in all newspapers, news agencies, televisions and online media today (Monday) to press the arrest of the killers of journalist couple Sagar-Runi.
Journalist unions earlier announced the programme to be observed from 12 noon to 1pm. The journalists will also wear black badges today (Monday).
The journalist unions representing the two factions of BFUJ and DUJ, National Press Club and Dhaka Reporters Unity also announced countrywide mass hunger strike on March 1 from 10 am to 4 pm if the killers were not arrested by then. In capital Dhaka, the mass hunger strike will be held at the National Press Club.
The unions also demanded trial of all past killings of the journalists in the country. On February 11, Maasranga TV news editor Sagar Sarwar and his wife, ATN Bangla senior reporter Meherun Runi, were murdered at their West Rajabazar apartment in the city.
Meanwhile, detectives investigating the sensational journalist couple murder on Sunday claimed that they have almost unearthed the motive behind the killing and said the arrest of the killers is now a matter of time.
Talking to reporters at the DB office, Deputy Commissioner of Detective Branch (DB-South) Monirul Islam said they are almost sure about the motive behind the killing, but declined to disclose it.
Dismissing media reports about the arrest of suspect in connection with the killing DC Monir categorically said, "It has no basis. There's no arrest till date." Monir's comment came 13 days after the IGP's claim that there had been substantial progress in the investigation.
Briefing reporters at the Police Headquarters on February 13, IGP Hasan Mahmud Khondker said a remarkable progress was there in the investigation.
After visiting the slain journalist couple at their Rajabazar residence on February 11, Home Minister Advocate Shahara Khatun had even given the law enforcing agencies a 48-hour timeframe to arrest the killers.
Sources said several DB teams conducted special abortive overnight drives in the capital on Saturday night to recover the stolen laptop of Sagar or Runi. According to them, a laptop, around 1400 euro and several gold ornaments were taken away by the killers. "Everything will become clear about the double murder once the missing laptop is recovered," said a DB official. 

HC asks govt to free footpaths from Zero Point to Sadarghat

DHAKA : The High Court on Sunday directed the authorities concerned to free footpaths of the roads from Zero Point to Sadarghat in 48 hours to mitigate sufferings of Dhaka Judge Court lawyers, justice-seekers and judges from gridlock.
An HC bench comprising Justice AHM Shamsuddin Chowdhury and Justice Jahangir Hossain issued the order on a writ petition filed by a human rights and environment organization in public interest.
The HC asked the authorities to take actions so that no pile of sand, iron rod or any other material, rickshaw vans, pushcarts, fruit shops and vendors can occupy the footpaths or roads from Zero Point to Sadarghat. 
In this regard, the court issued a rule on the home secretary, inspector general of police (IGP), joint commission (traffic), deputy commission (south), Dhaka metropolitan commissioner (DMP), city corporation administration (south), Dhaka deputy commissioner and officers-in-charge (OCs) of Bangsal, Kotwali, Sutrapur and Ramna police stations. The rule is returnable in two weeks.
Advocate Asaduzzaman Siddiqui and Ekhlas Uddin Bhuiyan filed the writ on behalf of Human Rights and Peace for Bangladesh.
Advocate Monzil Morshed appeared in the court on behalf of the petitioners while Deputy Attorney General Barrister ABM Altaf Hossain represented the government.

Int’l Crimes Tribunal gives media last warning for improper reporting

Dhaka : The International Crimes Tribunal on Sunday urged the media people once and for all to be more careful in the future in publishing or airing reports on the proceedings of war crimes trial.
The three-member tribunal, headed by Justice M Nizamul Huq, passed the order while disposing of two contemptuous reports published in the daily Janakantha over the deposition of two prosecution witnesses against detained Jamaat-e-Islami leader Delwar Hossain Sayedee who faces charges of crimes against humanity during the Liberation War in 1971.
Terming unwarranted and highly contemptuous the duo reports published in the daily Janakantha, the tribunal said those were improper and such reporting should be stopped. 
The tribunal also asked the Janakantha authorities to publish a corrigendum in this regard. 
"We see frequent misleading reports being published in a section of newspapers. Sometimes, it becomes harsh and unheard of. But we avoid all those things for smooth running of the judicial process in a fair way," the tribunal observed. 
The tribunal further advised the journalists to refrain from publishing or airing distorted reports on trial proceedings so that no one, including the accused, the defence counsel and the prosecution side, gets humiliated.
Advocate Tajul Islam, a defence counsel for accused Sayedee, submitted the contempt petition seeking remedy mentioning Janakantha editor Atiquallh Khan Masud and reporter Bikash Dutta as contemners. Reporter Dutta was present before passing the order.
So far, four daily newspapers - Janakantha, Sangram, Naya Diganta and English daily New Age-faced the music of contempt under section 11 (4) of the International Crimes (Tribunals) Act 1973.

No illegal detention for ICT trial: Shafique

Dhaka: Law minister Barrister Shafique Ahmed has said no one being tried by the ICT for crimes against humanity had been detained "illegally".
"No one was arrested without any reason. The arrests were made based on (verified) information for trials," he said on Saturday at a views-exchange meeting of secretaries of various ministries and human rights commission members at a city hotel.
Barrister Abdur Razzak, counsel to Jamaat-e-Islami leaders standing trial at the tribunal, told a media briefing on Feb 15 that the UN working group has issued a statement regarding the 1973 International Crimes Tribunal Act. In the letter, issued on Sep 23 last year, the UN group commented on the quality of the ongoing trials and the 1973 Act, barrister Razzak said.
Razzak said: "They (UN group) found evidence of mentionable 'obstruction' regarding the accused getting legal assistance, evidence and witnesses.” 
In reply, law minister Shafique Ahmed on Saturday said, "The tribunal is trying the accused for human rights violations during the 1971 Liberation War in Bangladesh. We have received a written statement from the United Nations. In it, they have claimed that the government illegally detained them."
The minister said detaining someone 'illegally' is not the same as 'arresting' someone for trial. He went on to describe the differences between the two procedures.
Detaining illegally is holding someone without any charge, information and whose trial procedures have not started. But there are definite charges against each of the arrestees standing trial at the ICT, he said. "The investigation is going on, the trials have kicked off. So, these arrests can in no way be called 'illegal' detention," Shafique said.

Border Killings: BNP wants action, not just talks

Dhaka: Despite talks with India, the government has failed to stop killing of Bangladeshis along the border by India's Border Security Force (BSF), BNP acting secretary-general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir has said.
"Though there have been many meetings on killings along the border, the government has failed to stop it," he told journalists after placing wreath on party founder Ziaur Rahman's grave at Sher-e-Bangla Nagar on Saturday.
"The Indian prime minister and home minister have assured on several occasions that killings along the border will stop. But the BSF chief said the opposite - he said firing along the border would continue.
"But our government is not concerned over this," he said.
At a meeting with his Bangladeshi counterpart Shahara Khatun on Friday, Indian home minister P Chidambaram claimed that incidents of firing by BSF personnel have declined significantly over the last eight months. Shahara urged India to bring down the number of such incidents to zero.
Earlier, on Feb 7, BSF chief U K Bansal had told the BBC in an interview that firing could never be completely stopped as long as illegal activities continue along the border.
Speaking on BNP's demand to revive the caretaker government system, annulled through the 15th amendment to the Constitution last year, Alamgir said the government would have to take the first step if it wants any solution in Parliament.
"The ruling party will have to place the bill (to revive the caretaker government system) in Parliament," Alamgir said.
"Even allies of the government are speaking about talks on the issue, (while) international quarters say they want to see an impartial election. So the demand for a caretaker government has become a national demand."

BNP pursues politics of vengeance : PM

Steps taken to complete BDR mutiny trial soon, she says

Kuakata : Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Saturday reiterated that the ruling Awami League does not believe in the politics of vengeance and opposition BNP needs to learn from it.
"Had Awami League believed in the politics of vengeance BNP workers would not have been able to be there in their houses after the 2008 general election," she said. Sheikh Hasina was addressing a mammoth meeting at Mozahar Uddin Biswas College here in the afternoon. She said: "Awami League always believes in the politics of peace and tolerance. This is our nature and BNP should learn from us," she advised the opposition party.
In support of her claim, the premier said, "BNP believes in the politics of vengeance. That's why the BNP chief has threatened to make the government crippled. How could the Leader of the Opposition utter words that are not worth of her position?"
Hasina asked the BNP to take lessons from the past and shun their ill-motive to capture power through conspiracy. "Take lessons from the past and keep your confidence in democracy," she said. About the trial of the BDR carnage at Pilkhana, Hasina said the government has taken all necessary steps to complete the BDR (now BGB) mutiny trial within the shortest possible time. "The trial of those BDR members who had got derailed will be held," she reaffirmed.
In this connection, she urged people to inquire who had instigated the BDR mutineers. "I'll request you to find out who were the instigators…which party do these people belong to?" she said.
She also accused BNP of instigating the BDR mutineers and said people know who had brought out procession in support of the rebels.
Hasina also took a swipe at the opposition leader for what she said for Khaleda's efforts to save the war criminals and said she (Khaleda) now spends sleepless nights thinking about saving the war criminals.
The Prime Minister said the opposition leader could not protect the killers of Bangabandhu and it will not be possible either for her to save the war criminals. "You just can't protect the war criminals, the trial has started and it'll be completed on this sacred land," she warned. She also alleged that the character of BNP is to help the killers.
"It started from Zia's regime and it's still going on." The AL chief President the BNP-Jamaat rule was a dark age for the country as there were corruption, killing and looting. "The then Prime Minister (Khaleda) and her sons had bogged down into corruption and plundering."

Infrastructure development needed for Indo-Bangla transit: Muhith

DHAKA: Finance minister AMA Muhith on Saturday laid emphasis on the development of infrastructure for allowing transit facility to India, saying that existing infrastructures at home are not enough to support transit.
"Transit is important but the development of infrastructures is the basic and more important for making the transit effective," he said while speaking at the inaugural session of a two-day dialogue on India-Bangladesh relations here.
Bangladesh Unnayan Parishad (BUP) and Centre for Research in Rural and Industrial Development (CRRID), India, jointly organised the dialogue.
PKSF chairman Dr Quazi Khalikuzzaman Ahmed and executive vice- chairman of CRRID Rashpal Malhotra took part in the discussion.
Sanjay Bhattacharyya, acting high commissioner of India in Bangladesh, also spoke on the occasion.
Speaking at the programme as the chief guest, Muhith said transit facility between the two countries had been there since 1947 but it remained suspended for a very brief period during Indo-Pakistan war in 1965.
Rejecting the allegations that there is high possibility of carrying out fraudulent activities in the name of transiting goods, the finance minister said modern technology can check such activities very easily.
Sanjay Bhattacharyya in his speech laid stress on strengthening people to people contact between the two countries to stop boarder firing, smuggling and human trafficking.
Referring to recent boarder shootings by BSF, Sanjay said smuggling, human trafficking and different anti-social activities were mainly responsible for such shootings.
He said India has been working to contain such firing in the boarder areas.