Foreign Affairs Adviser Md Touhid Hossain on Tuesday affirmed that only one agreement under the Indian Line of Credit (LoC) with India was cancelled, disagreeing with his Cabinet colleague Adviser Asif Mahmud on what he shared from his verified Facebook account.
Talking to reporters at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Touhid, however, did not want to make comments about his colleague’s social media post but clarified the whole issue, reading out a list of the agreements, some of which are under further review.
The adviser has clarified that many of the agreements reportedly cancelled with India do not exist in reality. He said that most of the agreements mentioned on it are either very old or are currently under review and do not exist under the stated names.
He added that there is no Feni River Water Management Project; what exists is a memorandum of understanding, which has not been cancelled. Likewise, the Kushiara River Water Distribution Project does not exist; what exists is a memorandum of understanding, which has not been suspended, the adviser added. There is no agreement named the Port Usage Related Road and Waterway Development Agreement. The existing arrangement for transporting goods between Bangladesh and India using Mongla Port has not been cancelled, the adviser further stated.
Md Touhid Hossain also said that the Indian Economic Zone has not been cancelled and the process is ongoing. Regarding Adani Power, the statements made are mostly correct, and discussions are ongoing for reconsideration. The Ganga Water Distribution Agreement will expire next year, and negotiations for its renewal are ongoing.
He added that work on the Teesta agreement has been ongoing for a long time, though progress has not been significant. The Tug Boat Agreement with the Indian defence company GRSE has been cancelled after review, as it was not found to be very beneficial for Bangladesh.
Adviser Asif Mahmud had posted a photocard on his Facebook account claiming that 10 agreements with India had been cancelled, while the rest were still under consideration.
