Dhaka:  Delegations from Burma and Bangladesh started talking on Monday about the maritime boundary between the two neighboring countries while in Dhaka, Bangladesh, after a 21-year break in communications on the issue, stated an official report.

According to the report, a bilateral committee tasked with redrawing the maritime border between Bangladesh and Burma met on Monday at the state guesthouse Padma for the first such talks in 21 years.

The Burmese delegation at the meeting is being led by Commodore Maung Oo Lwin, while the Bangladesh team is led by Additional Secretary to the Foreign Affairs Ministry MAK Mahmood.

The long-awaited talk between the two countries will last for two days. The last meeting between Burma and Bangladesh on the issue took place in 1986. Prior to that, the two countries had discussed their mutual sea border eight times between 1974 and 1986.

The talk has come about after a disagreement about gas exploration in the Bay of Bengal. Bangladesh authorities have accused Burma of planning gas exploration in several offshore blocks within Bangladesh waters.

The meeting also comes in the wake of increasing concern from Bangladesh over the exact location of its maritime border with its Southeast Asian neighbor as environmental issues are becoming increasingly important in the situation.

According to a Bangladesh Foreign Affairs report, Bangladesh will strongly present its rationale for the delimitation of the sea border to try and resolve the issue.

The military government in Burma responded positively to Mahmood's request to discuss the matter during his visit to Rangoon last January.

Related

Go to Forum >>0 Comments