Bangladesh will seek reassurance from India during the third Bangladesh-India Joint Consultative Commission (JCC) meeting to be held in New Delhi tomorrow (Saturday) that its territory will not be used against Bangladesh, report agencies.
"Surely, India will also have to give us this assurance. We'll surely seek it. Let me go there and discuss (it). I'll tell you more once I get back home," Foreign Minister AH Mahmood Ali told reporters at the Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport prior to his departure for New Delhi Thursday.
Foreign Secretary M Shahidul Haque, Director General (South Asia) Tareq M Ariful Islam and DG (EP) Noor-E Helal Saifur Rahman were present.
Mahmood Ali said Bangladesh also expects that India would not allow their soil against Bangladesh as Dhaka cleared its position about it. "I think it's there. It's understood. I'll tell more once I get back home."
The issue apparently emerged following alleged funding towards Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami as a senior BJP leader claimed that Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee funded Jamaat and the All India Trinamool Congress (AITC) has involvement with fundamental outfits.
Banerjee sent money taken from the scam-tainted Saradha Group to the 'outfit' in exchange for its help to influence voters in West Bengal and win elections, Siddharth Nath Singh Singh told reporters in Kolkata recently.
Responding to another question relating to Saradha scam and subsequent alleged funding to Jamaat, Mahmood Ali said it is India's internal matter. "Let them handle it. I personally think so."
When a questioner wanted to know whether Bangladesh side will convey its 'sense of urgency' for settling the long-pending Teesta water sharing deal and Land Boundary Agreement (LBA), the foreign minister said, "Certainly, I'll tell it in my own language."
He said the unsettled issues need to be settled to take forward the 'deep' relations between the two countries and to make it 'deeper and stronger.'
Asked whether Bangladesh would seek specific timeframe from India to settle the major pending issues, the foreign minister smiled and said, "These are all continuous process. Specific timeframe can't be given. Let's discuss first."
Asked whether he feels confident this time to have positive outcome soon on the two issues, he said they are in discussion and this discussion needs to continue to achieve results.
The foreign minister said their key focus will be on taking forward the relations with India and make it deeper and stronger.
Bangladesh side will focus on balanced sharing of common rivers, arranging next Joint Rivers Commission meeting, removal of barriers to boost exports and enhancing regional cooperation under the Bimstec, Saarc and BCIM-EC.
Meanwhile, a memorandum of understanding (MoU) will be signed with India to build ties between Bangladesh and Nalanda University of India.
Shortly after the press conference, the foreign minister left Dhaka for New Delhi on a four-day visit to attend the third JCC meeting.
