No anti-bilateral steps for Tipai dam

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina yesterday talks to Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on the sidelines of the NAM summit in Egypt. Photo: PID

Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh yesterday assured Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina that New Delhi would not take any step regarding their planned Tipaimukh Dam that might affect the bilateral relations between Bangladesh and India.
Hasina informed journalists accompanying her of the outcome of her meeting with Singh on the sidelines of the 15th Non-Aligned Movement Summit, reports UNB from Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt.
Hasina said the friendly relations between the two countries would remain unaffected and the two countries would move forward maintaining their own dignities.
The prime minister had the meeting with her Indian counterpart at Jolie Ville Golf Resort meeting room on the sidelines of the NAM summit, mainly discussing issues of bilateral interest.
The meeting took place at a time when there have been controversies in Bangladesh over the Tipaimukh dam planned by India on the common river Borak.
After the meeting with Manmohan, Hasina also had bilateral meetings with Chairman of Sate Council of Oman Yahya Mahood Al Moudhry and Filipino President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.
Jordanian Prime Minister Nader AL Tahavi also had a bilateral meeting with Hasina when they discussed matters of mutual interest.
DIPU MONI MEETS SHASHI THAROOR
Foreign Minister Dipu Moni yesterday said India should not further proceed with its plan to construct Tipaimukh Dam without a comprehensive study involving Bangladesh side, our diplomatic correspondent reports.
Talking with Indian State Minister for External Affairs Shashi Tharoor during a meeting in Egypt, she also said recent baseline declared by India for its sea border with Bangladesh was "very aggressive" and sought immediate rectification.
In response, Tharoor assured her of India greatly valuing its relations with Bangladesh and nothing would be done that could impair this relation and went against the interest of Bangladesh, said a foreign ministry press release.
Dipu Moni, who is now attending the 15th NAM summit at Sharm-el-Sheikh in Egypt, also raised the issue of Bangladesh's trade imbalance with India, demarcation of border and exchange of enclaves, visa problems and combating terrorism, said the press release.
She stated that Bangladesh-India relations were one of the most comprehensive relations; hence the resolution of the outstanding issues had to be comprehensive rather than piecemeal.
Mentioning the huge trade imbalance between the two countries, the foreign minister urged the Indian state minister to remove different kinds of barriers for export augmentation from Bangladesh.
In this respect, she pointed out equalisation of standards and improvement of infrastructure in the Indian side for import of products from Bangladesh.
She also referred to the difficulties faced by Bangladeshis, especially businessmen, getting Indian visas.
Tharoor proposed reciprocal arrangement in this regard. He also mentioned that he did not see any problem regarding the entrance of Nepalese trucks through Indian into Bangladesh.
Dipu Moni also mentioned the issues of demarcation of border and exchange of enclaves.
Tharoor assured to convey her concerns to the proper authorities in India.
Dipu Moni also mentioned that maritime boundaries should be demarcated according to the internationally accepted principle of equity and hoped that India would be ready for negotiations to resolve the issue as both the countries were in need of resources at sea.
The Indian state minister expressed his deep apprehension for the possible adverse impact of climate change on Bangladesh and assured India's all out support and understanding in this regard and confirmed to defend the interest of Bangladesh in international forums.
He also suggested that Bangladesh and India take up joint projects for the benefit of the people of the two countries.
The two also discussed the South Asian Task Force on Terrorism and were of the opinion that an appropriate use of this taskforce would help combat the menace of terrorism in South Asia.
Dipu Moni invited Tharoor to visit Bangladesh at his early convenience.
At the sidelines of the summit, Dipu Moni had a series of meetings with her counterparts of different countries including foreign ministers of Portugal, the Maldives, UAE, Singapore and Serbia.