Indian External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid has reaffirmed that India would take no unilateral decision on the Himalayan component of the common rivers that might adversely affect Bangladesh.
During a meeting with Foreign Minister Dr Dipu Moni at Bandar Seri Begawan on Monday, he also offered to share more comprehensive information with Bangladesh on the proposed hydro-electric projects in Meghalaya, and said he personally remained engaged with getting the Land Boundary Agreement with Bangladesh approved through the Indian Parliament, according to a message received here.
Salman Khurshid assured that fresh dates for the visit of the Indian Water Resources Minister to attend the Joint River Commission meeting in Dhaka would be announced shortly.
The two ministers also exchanged views on some of the positive developments in the bilateral relations in recent times, and the Indian Minister reiterated that there remained strong commitment at the highest political level in India to deliver on the agreements reached between the two countries on certain issues of critical interest for Bangladesh.
On border killing, Khurshid said the number of incidents of killing at the border had gone down but reiterated that any single incident of death between two friendly and neighbouring countries is totally unacceptable.
He said the Indian government would continue with counseling and motivational efforts with the Border Security Force (BSF) to avoid any such incident along the border.
Dipu Moni suggested setting up joint mechanisms involving experts from both sides to understand the implications of the projects.
The Indian minister proposed that the two sides should work on developing a long-term Vision Plan for power generation and sharing.
“Bangladesh’s demand for power would continue to grow in the near future and as our ability to generate electricity increases, Bangladesh should have the first claim to that outside India,” he said.
Khurshid also said, “Bangladesh-India relations are now standing on a strong foundation and we have to carry on with our unfinished work to build further blocks on that foundation.”
The two ministers expressed satisfaction over the outcome of the recent tripartite meeting involving Bangladesh, Bhutan and India on hydropower generation and connectivity.
Dipu Moni mentioned that it was indeed an emotive issue for the people of Bangladesh, and stressed the need for making the coordinated border management plan more effective. In this context, the two ministers also agreed to look into the issue of strengthening the infrastructure at different border check-posts.
She conveyed her sympathies for the loss of lives during the recent floods and landslide in northern India.
The Bangladesh Foreign Minister reached the Brunei Darussalam capital in the morning to attend the 20th Asean Regional Forum (ARF) along with Foreign Ministers from 26 other ARF participants.
Source: UNBConnect
