Bangladesh would soon start negotiation in the World Trade Organisation (WTO) to retain the existing trade preferences in major exporting countries after the country's graduation from least developed country (LDC) status.

It would approach in collaboration with 10 other countries those are also in the process of graduation.

"We will negotiate in the WTO to continue with the trade benefits in the transition period of five to ten years," Mohammad Mahbubur Rahman Patwary, director (deputy secretary) of the WTO Cell under the Ministry of Commerce (MoC), told a workshop on Sunday.

The Economic Reporters Forum (ERF) with the support of MoC organised the two-day workshop on 'WTO and Trade Policy' at its auditorium in the capital.

Md Kamal Hossain, Director General (additional secretary) of the WTO Cell spoke on the issue while Md Hafizur Rahman, director of the cell, gave a presentation on dispute settlement in the WTO.

Dr. Mostafa Abid Khan, member of Bangladesh Tariff Commission (BTC), spoke on different aspects of Free Trade Agreement (FTA).

Dr. Abid said bilateral FTA is not gaining popularity in Bangladesh due to 'fear of unknown'. The country is yet to sign any bilateral FTA with any country.

"The major focus of the country is to get market access and that's why the intra-regional trade is not increasing," he added.

He said Bangladesh needs to develop its expertise to negotiate on e-commerce, intellectual property rights and other technical issues in the WTO.

Md Hafizur Rahman said most of the disputes have been settled at the consultation stage in the WTO.