Apart from water sharing, trade and connectivity, mutual cooperation to absorb the shock of the Ukraine war will be highlighted in the 7th Meeting of the India-Bangladesh Joint Consultative Commission (JCC), which will be held in New Delhi today (Sunday).
Dr S Jaishankar, external affairs minister of India, and Dr AK Abdul Momen, foreign minister of Bangladesh, will co-chair the meeting.
The neighbouring countries will discuss possible areas of cooperation to absorb the shock of the Ukraine war on the economies, said officials of the foreign ministry.
Both the foreign ministers will have a meeting on the sidelines of the JCC. In the last week of May, the duo held a meeting in India's Guwahati where they discussed ways to source energy at cheaper prices, sources said.
Bangladesh will also press for holding the meeting of the Joint River Commission (JRC) to resolve the pending water sharing issues, especially of the Teesta.
"We will raise the water sharing issue of Teesta and other joint rivers. It is very frustrating for us that the deal on sharing water of the Teesta River could not be signed despite nods from top leaderships of both the countries," said Foreign Minister Dr Momen. "It is a matter of shame for them (India) as they could not deliver the deal."
The minister, along with the Bangladesh delegation, reached Delhi on Saturday afternoon.
The minister mentioned that the JCC was deferred from May 29 to June 19 with a hope that the JRC could be held in the meantime.
But that did not happen, Dr Momen repented.
According to the foreign ministry officials, the JCC will review the entire gamut of bilateral relations, including cooperation in the wake of Covid-19, border management and security, trade and investment, connectivity, energy, water resources, development partnership and regional and multilateral issues.
This will be the first physical JCC meeting convened since the onset of Covid-19 pandemic - the previous edition held virtually in 2020.
mirmostafiz@yahoo.com
