Two cooperation agreements are going to be signed between Bangladesh and Cambodia today (Monday) as the cabinet endorsed the deals on the day, under a provision of one a joint commission will be formed.
In another major transaction of business, the cabinet approved in principle the draft Bangladesh Coast Guard Act 2014 with a provision of capital punishment for mutiny in the force, assigned to an important task of policing the country's maritime areas.
Also, the council of ministers re-scheduled the office timings during the upcoming holy month of Ramadan.
The two proposed agreements will be signed following official talks between Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and the visiting Cambodian Prime Minister, Hun Sen, this afternoon, officials said.
The deals are 'Agreement between the Royal Government of Cambodia and the Government of the People's Republic of Bangladesh on the Establishment of a Joint Commission for Promoting Bilateral Cooperation' and 'Agreement on Cultural Cooperation between the Government of the People's Republic of Bangladesh and the Royal Government of Cambodia'.
"The proposed law aims to make the Coast Guard a disciplined, skilled and effective force through updating the existing 1994 act," cabinet secretary Muhammad Musharraf Hossain Bhuiyan told the media after regular cabinet meeting in the conference room of the cabinet division.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina presided over the meeting at Bangladesh Secretariat.
The cabinet secretary said the 1994 law was incomplete as there was no specific directive about the discipline of the coastguards who are responsible for curbing piracy in coastal areas, checking smuggling and ensuring people's security.
He said the cabinet directed the authorities concerned to get the draft law reviewed by a number of secretaries led by the law minister for making necessary suggestions before placing it for vetting by the law, justice and parliamentary affairs ministry.
Regarding the formulation process of the proposed law, he said, "Necessary assistance has been taken from the newly-formulated Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) Act alongside associating the Navy, and the ministry of public administration and drafting specialists."
Apart from other offences, he said, the proposed law defined various mutiny-related offences, trial procedure and death sentence for mutiny.
Mr Bhuiyan said the jurisdiction of the Director-General (DG) of the Coast Guard as well as his role have been defined alongside formation of Coast Guard Court like the court martial, provision for appeal and empowering the government for formulating rules.
The Coast Guard would be able to formulate regulations taking prior approval from the government.
As per the cabinet decision, the office timings during the upcoming month of fasting will be from 9:00 am to 3:30 pm with a 15-minute prayer break from 1:15 pm to 1:30 pm for government, semi-government, autonomous and semi-autonomous institutions.
However, banks, insurance companies, financial institutions, Bangladesh Railway, post offices and utility service-providing organisations could fix their own timetables according to their own rules and regulations for the month. The timing for the High Court and lower courts will be fixed by the Supreme Court for Ramadan.
The cabinet was apprised of the Prime Minister's visit to China from June 6, participation of Bangladesh representatives in the 67th summit of the World Health Organisation (WHO) in Geneva, Switzerland, May 19-24 and the participation of Bangladesh representatives in the 47th annual conference of the Board of Governors of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) in Astana, Kazakhstan, on May 2-5 this year.
