Dhaka, March 4 -- Foreign Minister Dr Khalilur Rahman on Wednesday rejected claims that the reciprocal trade agreement between Bangladesh and the US was signed abruptly just days before the recently held national election.

He said the matter had been discussed in advance with the leadership of the country's two major political parties - BNP and Jamaat-e-Islami- and both of which had agreed to the deal prior to its signing.

"The US Trade Representative spoke to the heads of our two key parties before the elections and they also agreed to it. So it's not like we did this in the dark," Dr Khalilur said in response to a question on whether there had been any pressure to expedite the signing of the deal ahead of the recently held national el...