Dhaka, April 1 (bdnews24.com)—Technical committees on the redrawing of the maritime boundary between Bangladesh and Myanmar finished their two-day talks in Dhaka Tuesday without any major decision.
But the two sides have agreed to carry out a joint survey of the sea boundary and to meet in Yangon sometime in June to reach a final decision.
"We will meet again in Myanmar to resolve all issues," MAK Mahmood, additional foreign secretary and chief of the Bangladesh delegation, told reporters.
The 10-member Myanmar technical team met with foreign affairs secretary Md Touhid Hossain in his office. Mahmood later briefed Hossain on progress in the talks.
"It's a continuous process. Dialogue will go on. We have not yet reached a consensus on all issues," Hossain told bdnews24.com.
Bangladesh and Myanmar held such talks after a pause of 22 years.
The two countries met on maritime borders to finalise their rights to sea in the continental shelf under the United Nations Convention on Sea Laws (UNCLOS).
Myanmar needs to delineate sea borders by 2009 as per the UNCLOS while Bangladesh will have to draw its borders by 2011.
The sea delimitation is important for Bangladesh and Myanmar, also because both countries have been planning to conduct oil and gas exploration in the Bay of Bengal.
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