Dhaka, Oct. 8 -- Uncertainty over Prime Minister Tarique Rahman's possible Delhi visit and political tensions have not stopped Dhaka and New Delhi from trying to clear obstacles to bilateral trade.

The 16th meeting of the Joint Working Group on Trade began in New Delhi on Thursday, with the two sides discussing ways to ease import and export restrictions, a Bangladeshi official and a diplomat told bdnews24.com.

"Bangladesh mainly stressed the removal of port-related restrictions," the diplomat said.

Other issues included aligning HS codes, facilitating trade through customs stations at land ports, removing restrictions under foreign direct investment policy, and SAFTA rules of origin.

"India also spoke about removing port restrictions...