Bangladesh (Commonwealth Union)_ The second secretary-level dialogue between Bangladesh and Sri Lanka on marine connectivity is scheduled to be conducted in Colombo in order to determine the opportunities and areas of collaboration in naval connectivity. According to a media statement, the information was disclosed during a bilateral discussion between the two nations in the conference room of the Shipping Ministry at the Secretariat.
Khalid Mahmud Chowdhury, Bangladeshi State Minister for Shipping, and visiting Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Ali Sabry headed the respective delegations of their sides during the meeting. According to reports, the conference highlighted that Bangladesh and Sri Lanka are collaborating to strengthen naval connections and develop marine cooperation by identifying the extent of their mutual collaboration. In 2019, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka conducted their first secretary-level marine cooperation meeting in Dhaka. However, the second conference has been postponed owing to the COVID-19 pandemic.
During the conference, Coastal Shipping Agreement between Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, as well as Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for commencing feeder services between Sri Lankan Shipping Corporation and Bangladesh Shipping Corporation, were discussed. The meeting was attended by a number of delegates including Bangladeshi Shipping Secretary Md Mostafa Kamal and Sri Lankan High Commissioner to Dhaka Professor Sadharshan Seneviratne. Previously, the Sri Lankan Foreign Minister made a courtesy visit to the office of the State Minister for Shipping and addressed several bilateral matters.
By enhancing marine connections and boosting maritime cooperation, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka can make enormous contributions to economic growth. Based on this insight, the two nations are collaborating by identifying areas of mutual collaboration. Moreover, the two nations also agreed to conduct annual secretary-level conferences to explore these opportunities and areas of collaboration. According to the State Minister, marine cooperation between Bangladesh and Sri Lanka is strengthening and expanding. He stated that negotiations between Bangladesh and Sri Lanka over the Coastal Shipping Agreement have been continuing for a considerable amount of time.
