Talks with Nepal, Bhutan shortly
Bangladesh will hold talks with Nepal and Bhutan soon on allowing them to use Chittagong and Mongla ports, and sign Memorandums of Understanding as per the joint communiqué signed by the prime ministers of Bangladesh and India.
Dhaka will also have talks with Delhi on the matter as both Nepal and Bhutan will need Indian land corridor for using the two ports.
The decision was taken at an inter-ministerial meeting at the Prime Minister's Office yesterday with the PM's economic affairs adviser Mashiur Rahman in the chair.
"We will visit Nepal and Bhutan soon, may be at the end of this month or early next month, to discuss the use of Chittagong and Mongla ports by the two countries. After reaching a decision with them, we will discuss it with India," the adviser told The Daily Star later.
The meeting emphasised quick implementation of the joint communiqué. "We sat to review the progress in this regard, and to expedite it," Mashiur said.
He mentioned that the shipping ministry is overseeing setting up of land customs offices at some border points. Procedure of operation has been settled for trucks from Nepal and Bhutan which will cross 200 metres from zero point, he added.
The meeting emphasised building power transmission lines immediately for import of 250 MW electricity from India. It also discussed taking up more projects with the $1 billion Indian credit.
On the progress of implementation of the joint communiqué, Mashiur said, " It is good, and India is advancing more than Bangladesh in this regard."
Asked about sharing of the Teesta water, the adviser said it will take time to estimate the quantity of water the two countries now get.
The joint communiqué touched on a range of issues including maritime boundary dispute on the Bay of Bengal, demarcation of border and implementation of 1974 boundary agreement and removal of tariff and non-tariff barriers on Bangladeshi products.
Comments