To review bilateral ties, India and Bangladesh to hold virtual meeting
The matter figured in a phone conversation between external affairs minister S Jaishankar and his Bangladeshi counterpart AK Abdul Momen. Jaishankar tweeted the two sides had agreed to hold the JCC meeting “very soon” but there were no details from the external affairs ministry.
India and Bangladesh are expected to hold a virtual meeting of their Joint Consultative Commission (JCC) later this month to review the bilateral relationship, people familiar with developments said on Monday.
The matter figured in a phone conversation between external affairs minister S Jaishankar and his Bangladeshi counterpart AK Abdul Momen. Jaishankar tweeted the two sides had agreed to hold the JCC meeting “very soon” but there were no details from the external affairs ministry.
“Warm conversation with FM Dr AK Abdul Momen of Bangladesh. Agreed to hold our Joint Consultative Commission very soon. Will continue to work closely to reach the ambitious goals set by our leaders,” Jaishankar tweeted.
The people cited above said on condition of anonymity that the two sides are expected to hold the JCC meeting via video conference in view of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The two leaders also discussed recent initiatives to improve connectivity between the two countries, including the operationalisation of the Daukandi-Sonamura inland waterway route on September 5, with the trial run of a vessel carrying cement from the Bangladeshi side to the northeastern state of Tripura, the people said.
The last JCC meeting was held in New Delhi in February last year, when Momen and his then Indian counterpart Sushma Swaraj led their respective sides.
Momen told the BSS news agency in Dhaka that he and Jaishankar agreed in principle during their conversation to hold the JCC meeting virtually.
BSS reported Bangladesh foreign secretary Masud bin Momen is unlikely to visit New Delhi ahead of the JCC meeting.
At the last JCC meeting, the two sides had signed four MoUs to strengthen multifaceted cooperation.
These MoUs covered the mid-career training of 1,800 Bangladeshi government employees, cooperation between AYUSH and the Bangladesh health ministry in the field of medicinal plants, cooperation between the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and cooperation with the Bangladesh Economic Zones Authority to facilitate investments in an Indian economic zone in Mongla.
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