Foreign ministry to deal with transit issues with India instead of MoC

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Shakhawat Hossain
The ministry of communication (MoC) has handed over the responsibility of dealing with issues related to transit facilities to India to the ministry of foreign affairs (MoFA), sources said.
A committee headed by secretary of the MoFA from now on will look into the multi-national communication projects and pacts which are linked with the issue of transit facilities to India.
The decisions were taken at an inter-ministerial meeting of the MoC Tuesday last with its adviser Abdul Matin in the chair, sources added.
The issue of transit facility to India has become a techno-political affair that should be dealt from a common platform, the meeting noted.
In the past, the MoC played the role of lead ministry although different ministries like planning commission, economic relation divisions were also involved with communications issues related to multi-national pacts.
At present, the country is dealing with at least three multinational pacts.
These are: South Asia Subregional Economic Cooperation (SASEC), Transport Infrastructure and Logistic Study (TILS) under the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) and Multimodal Transport Study under the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC).
Another study on trade facilitation and transit facility is being studied under the ministry of planning since last year.
Sources said objective of the projects and the studies are related with the development of the country's communication infrastructure and to be connected with the neighbouring countries.
India and Myanmar are two neighbours but the country shares a vast length of its border with the former one.
Besides the multinational pacts, the country has been pursued by India bilaterally to allow transit and transshipment facilities for the last one decade.
But ministries concerned could not take any decision on the issues during the two past political regimes.
Dhaka is also member of two UN-sponsored projects -- trans-asian highway and railway. It has already decided to ratify the treaty on railway but remained undecided on joining the highway.
So far, it expressed reservations to join the highway under the UN prescribed route after it observed that the action would allow transit facilities to India, sources said.
Dhaka expressed willingness to join the highway through its other neighbour Myanmar. It has also been pursuing Yangon bilaterally to establish direct road link under its 'look east policy'.