A high-powered meeting between Bangladesh and Sri Lanka will be held in Dhaka Tuesday to discuss finalisation of a maritime connectivity agreement, aimed at boosting bilateral trade and commerce between the two countries, officials said.
To participate in the first-ever shipping secretaries' level meeting, a five-member Sri Lankan delegation -- lead by Ports and Shipping Secretary L. P. Jayampathy -- arrived in the capital Sunday.
The issues set to be discussed included draft coastal shipping agreement, priority berthing at ports in Sri Lanka, traffic concession, feeder services between Chittagong and Colombo ports, lease/ purchase of ocean-going vessels.
Besides holding interaction with the public and private sector stakeholders of both the countries, training of Bangladeshi crew and mutual recognition of competency certificate of seafarers and quick issuance of visas would also come up for discussion, according to the Ministry of Shipping (MoS).
Earlier, Bangladesh had sent proposals to Sri Lanka for signing a coastal shipping agreement between the two countries.
The proposals forwarded through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for opinion from the counterpart were included standard of procedure, classification of cargo vessels and their insurance, and number of ports of call.
"We hope to get their feedback about our proposals on signing a coastal shipping agreement," said an official.
Before finalising the agreement, officials of both sides would pay 'home and away' visits to see the ports of call and other infrastructure facilities for commissioning the coastal shipping line.
Bangladesh and Sri Lanka at a meeting of the Joint Working Group (JWG) on maritime connectivity in Dhaka in April 2014 had agreed to move ahead for signing a coastal shipping agreement.
At the meeting, Sri Lanka had offered priority berthing, higher productivity, handling of empty containers, and special rebate for the port handling charges for Bangladeshi vessels.
The two countries also agreed to form a Joint Study Group (JSG) comprising five members from each country.
The JSG will examine the pros and cons, and give suggestions for signing the coastal shipping agreement.
If Bangladeshi vessels use Colombo port on their way to Europe or the United States of America (USA), it would help cut the lead time substantially for the manufacturers and suppliers.
The two countries had earlier signed a shipping agreement in 2011 to improve maritime connectivity, exchange of knowledge to facilitate counter piracy, maritime health and safety issues.
Once the coastal shipping agreement is signed, it would facilitate movement of medium-sized Bangladeshi vessels of 3,000-4,000 dead weight tonnes (DWT) between the Chittagong and Colombo ports.
At present, Bangladeshi vessels having capacity of 1,000-1,200 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) operate between the two ports.
Coastal shipping business in the Bay of Bengal region has promising potential subject to availability of cargoes, said an official.
He said it (coastal shipping) could be a reliable alternative to regional shipping activities and trade. "It will help cut the operating cost and contribute to grow regional sea-borne trade."
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