Dhaka, Delhi agree to strengthen cooperation on common rivers

Bangladesh and India on Sunday agreed to work closely to further deepen and strengthen cooperation on common rivers and water resources management.

They  also agreed to strengthen cooperation in IT and cybersecurity, renewable energy, agriculture and food security, sustainable trade, climate change and disaster management.

The seventh round of the Bangladesh-India Joint Consultative Commission (JCC) was held in New Delhi on Thursday.

The JCC was co-chaired by Foreign Minister  AK Abdul Momen and Indian External Affairs Minister  S Jaishankar, UNB reports.

Both sides reiterated the importance of the safe, speedy and sustainable return of the forcibly displaced persons from Myanmar’s Rakhine, now being sheltered by Bangladesh, according to the joint media release issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Acknowledging the excellent bilateral ties shared by the two countries, both ministers reiterated the importance of closer cooperation to expeditiously implement their leaders’ decisions and to further deepen and strengthen mutual engagement in all sectors of bilateral cooperation.

During his visit to New Delhi, Foreign Minister Momen will also pay a courtesy call on Vice-President M Venkaiah Naidu and other dignitaries of the Indian government.

It was agreed that the eighth round of India-Bangladesh JCC will be held in Bangladesh in 2023.

Both ministers appreciated that in addition to the high-level visits, there have been intensive engagements through various bilateral mechanisms and agreed to further enhance partnership-building efforts with renewed vigour and regularity.