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October 6th, 2008 by admin | No Comments | Filed in New PostMyanmar’s vice-chairman General Maung Aye to arrive for Dhaka-Yangon talks
Dhaka, Oct 6 (bdnews24.com) — Maritime borders and a cross-border road, for an overland link with China, are likely to top the agenda in talks with a high-level delegation from Myanmar arriving Tuesday.
Myanmar’s vice-chairman General Maung Aye and nine ministers will be in Dhaka on a three-day visit from Oct 7 to 9, foreign adviser Iftekhar Ahmed Chowdhury told bdnews24.com on Monday.
“This is going to be a significant visit in terms of bilateral relations,” Chowdhury said.
“We have a number of projects we are planning together with Myanmar. And I am positive that this visit will boost our cooperation in all areas.
“The discussion will focus on construction of a road which will hopefully link up with China, leasing land for agriculture and completion of maritime boundary talks.”
During a visit of chief adviser Fakhruddin Ahmed to Beijing in September, Chinese leaders laid stress on an overland route connecting Bangladesh and China via Myanmar.
China, a close ally of Myanmar, wants the road link with a view to using Chittagong port.
Bangladesh and Myanmar in July last year signed an agreement on construction of a cross-boundary friendship highway from Teknaf in Cox’s Bazar to Bawlibazar in Myanmar.
Then communications adviser MA Matin and Myanmar’s construction minister General Saw Tun signed the agreement in Dhaka.
Bangladesh will construct 25 kilometres of the road to Bawlibazar from Teknaf and Myanmar will construct the rest 120 kilometres from Bawlibazar to Kyautaw.
Iftekhar said the talks would also touch on the demarcation of maritime boundaries with Myanmar.
Talks on sea borders between Bangladesh and Myanmar resumed last April in Dhaka after 22 years.
The issue needs to be resolved for both Bangladesh and Myanmar to carry out offshore oil and gas exploration in the Bay of Bengal.
The next official sea boundary talks are expected to take place in January next year in Yangon.
The foreign adviser mentioned other issues likely to come up in the talks.
“We will also discuss contract farming and regular import of rice from Myanmar.”
Bangladesh and Myanmar have been working to reach an agreement on contract farming according to which Bangladeshi entrepreneurs will lease Myanmar land and cultivate agricultural products to be sold in Bangladesh.
The adviser said they would also discuss export of Bangladeshi pharmaceuticals to Myanmar.
Gen Aye, the second-in-command of Myanmar’s highest ruling body, the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC), was originally scheduled to visit Dhaka on Sept 10, 2007.
The visit was postponed owing to political uprising in the former Burma in August last year.
