Bangladesh at a foreign office consultation (FOC) in Myanmar on Saturday called for early resumption of repatriation of the already cleared Myanmar refugees.
Addressing the 7th round of the FOC in Naypyitaw, Bangladesh Foreign Secretary Shahidul Haque also proposed forming a Joint Committee to exclusively deal with the issues of repatriation of refugees and undocumented Myanmar nationals in Bangladesh as the process was deferred due to the breakout of communal violence in its Rakhaine State.
The June 14-15 consultation meeting reviewed the entire gamut of bilateral political, economic and security cooperation between the two countries.
Myanmar took note of the proposal for active consideration and assured of starting the process as soon as the situation is stabilised in Rakhaine, according to a message received here.
Acknowledging the utmost importance of having the best of neighbourly relations, Bangladesh and Myanmar pledged to begin a new era of partnership based on trust and confidence for stronger economic ties and stability along the common borders.
Emphasising the importance of enhancing security and stability at their common borders at land and sea, the two sides agreed to address jointly and comprehensively the entire range of trans-boundary crimes along the borders, including illegal trafficking in persons, drugs and arms as well as money-laundering and discussed Bangladesh’s proposal for a ‘security dialogue’ within the framework of the FOC.
Both the governments reaffirmed the commitment of their ‘zero tolerance’ policy against the use of their respective territories by any person or group for subversive activities against the other.
The two sides also agreed to intensify regular interactions between the two border forces as well as civil administrations of the bordering districts of Bangladesh and Myanmar.
With regard to Bangladesh’s willingness to import natural gas, the Myanmar Deputy Minister apprised about the ongoing process of floating bids for offshore and onshore gas blocks and assured of giving priority to Bangladesh after meeting their domestic demand.
Shahidul Haque led a 14-member Bangladesh delegation to the consultations, while his counterpart Deputy Foreign Minister of Myanmar, U Thant Kyaw, led a 20-member home side to the meeting.
The Foreign Secretary of Bangladesh also called on Myanmar’s Deputy Ministers for Commerce, Home and Electric Power. The delegation also met the officials in the Ministry of Transport.
Both the countries also acknowledged the importance of multimodal physical connectivity among them and expressed satisfaction that the revised air service agreement would be singed soon.
They also take stock of the ongoing negotiations on the establishment of direct coastal shipping link and agreed to conclude the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) at the earliest.
It was also agreed to renew the expired Agreement on Cultural Cooperation and to conclude an MoU on Cultural Exchange Programme. Bangladesh offered to arrange short diplomatic training courses for the mid and junior level diplomats of Myanmar. Both sides appreciated the present level of defence cooperation between the two armed forces.
Bangladesh invited Myanmar to send a delegation to an international conference on peace, tolerance and non-violence proposed to be held at Ramu, Coxs Bazar in later part of this year. Bangladesh also proposed greater exchanges between Buddhist scholars to deepen inter-cultural understanding between the two countries.
The meeting also discussed cooperation under the regional framework like Bimstec and BCIM.
Congratulating Bangladesh for hosting the Bimstec Secretariat in Dhaka, the Myanmar side also informed that Myanmar is looking forward to host the next Bimstec Summit in early September 2013, as its current chair.
Both the delegations also discussed the pending visit of the President of Myanmar in near future. Bangladesh proposed hosting the first round of the meeting of Joint Commission to be held at the Foreign Ministers’ level.
The meeting ended with a high note of optimism with common resolve to take the relations to a newer height. “It’s my conviction that this consultation will strengthen our goodwill, confidence, mutual trust and understanding,” said the Myanmar delegation leader.
The Bangladesh Foreign Secretary said, “We need to remove all the obstacles to fast-track political, cultural and economic cooperation between the two countries.”
The meeting also decided to hold the next round of FOC in Bangladesh at a mutually convenient time.
Source: UNBConnect
