Bangladesh Foreign Minister A.H. Mahmud Ali, who left for Delhi on Thursday, said unresolved issues between the two neighbours should be resolved to take forward bilateral ties.
Admitting that the existing Dhaka-Delhi relations were “deep”, Mr. Ali told presspersons at the Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport here, “We want an even deeper relation and for that we want unresolved issues should be settled. That’s a must.”
The Minister will lead a delegation comprising seven Secretaries, including the Foreign Secretary, to attend the third foreign minister level meeting, Joint Consultative Commission (JCC), to be held on September 20. This will be the first such meeting after the NDA government took charge in New Delhi.
A wide range of issues such as trade, connectivity, power, water resources, security, border management, introduction of coastal shipping, infrastructure, people-to-people contacts, culture, environment and education would be discussed. The alleged killing of Bangladeshi citizens along the border will also be high on the agenda.
It was learnt that the Bangladesh side was likely to seek a “specific timeframe” from India to resolve the pending Teesta water sharing treaty and Land Boundary Agreement (LBA).
Mr. Ali said his counterpart, Sushma Swaraj’s “stand-alone” visit in June within a month of the NDA government coming to power reflected the “depth and cordiality” of the relations.
Apart from the scheduled meetings, the Bangladesh Minister will pay a courtesy call on President Pranab Mukherjee and Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He would also meet other Ministers, political leaders, and eminent citizens before he leaves New Delhi for New York on September 21 to attend the U.N. General Assembly with the Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
An MoU would be signed for affiliation of the Nalanda University in Bihar. Both regional and sub-regional issues particularly BIMSTEC, SAARC and BCIM-EC would be discussed.
Mr. Ali said it was already agreed that India would not allow its territory to be used against Bangladesh. “Yes, we’ll want (the assurance),” he said when asked citing media reports that Indian Saradha company was financing the Jamaat-e-Islami in Bangladesh. He, however, said it was a matter best left to India’s own investigation.
