China offers container inspection scanners to Bangladesh

China granted four sets of vehicle mobile container inspection scanners to Bangladesh on Wednesday for installation in the country's four top customs houses.

Addressing the hand-over ceremony, Bangladesh State Minister for Finance MA Mannan said the scanners will be installed in customs houses in Chittagong and Mongla seaports and Benapole, the country's largest land-port on the Indo-Bangladesh border, and Inland Container Depot (ICD) at Kamalapur in the capital of Dhaka.

Mannan said the scanners will help the government's efforts to introduce the Non-Intrusive Inspection (NII) system which is proven to be a trade facilitation tool enumerated in the Revised Kyoto Convention and required by WTO-Trade Facilitation Agreement.

"The NII through the mobile container scanner meets the demand of both security as well as quick clearance of cargo," he said.

NII, which is one of the modern and effective instruments of customs procedure, can be introduced in Bangladesh with the help of the four mobile container scanners, said Nojibur Rahman, senior secretary of Bangladesh's Internal Resources Division.

Rahman, also chairman of Bangladesh National Board of Revenue (NBR) said, "The grant for the mobile container scanners is the continuation of the Chinese support."

The relationship between China and Bangladesh is trusted and everlasting, he said, adding that Bangladesh has been getting assistance from China since long.

"I hereby express my sincere thanks to the China for such cooperation."

It would help NBR materializing the political guidance to modernize the Bangladesh Customs in order to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.

Chinese Ambassador Ma Mingqian appreciated the modernization efforts of the Bangladeshi government and called the two countries time-tested friends and development partners.

He reiterated the Chinese government's commitment to continuing to support Bangladeshi's development efforts in the future. Endit