| Indian foreign secy ends 'surprise' visit :meets Dipu Moni. The diplomatic circle in Dhaka also expressed their astonishment, as they knew nothing in advance An official of the foreign ministry wishing anonymity told The Daily Star that there was a violation of protocol. According to the protocol, the Indian foreign secretary should have held official talks with his counterpart first before making courtesy calls on the foreign minister and the PM.Not only the media, officials in the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) and the foreign ministry were also unaware of Menon's possible visit, the sources said.(The Daily Star ) Dhaka asked to send team to visit Tipaimukh Dam India yesterday invited a Bangladeshi delegation to see the construction of the planned Tipaimukh Dam on the River Barak, which environmentalists fear will eventually dry up the Meghna River in the greater Sylhet region.The invitation came at a meeting between Bangladesh Foreign Minister Dipu Moni and visiting Indian Foreign Secretary Shiv Shankar Menon. Menon came to Dhaka on a surprise visit on Sunday night, and met Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and Army Chief Gen Moeen U Ahmed. Both the Indian high commission and Bangladesh foreign ministry maintained secrecy about his visit, leaving the local media totally in the dark, which led to widespread speculation in the diplomatic circle. "I thought you knew it, as the media knows ahead of us," a smiling Bangladesh Foreign Secretary Touhid Hossain told reporters. Menon said he had no specific agenda of discussion. Asked about his surprise visit, the Indian foreign secretary said, "We meet regularly. We don't have a set schedule. We meet whenever we feel. We feel that many of the issues that we might have had difficulties with in the past are now coming right to a situation where we can move forward." Foreign ministry sources said this is for the first time an Indian foreign secretary came to Bangladesh without prior announcement and in such a short notice. The diplomatic circle in Dhaka also expressed their astonishment, as they knew nothing in advance about such a high profile visit. Not only the media, officials in the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) and the foreign ministry were also unaware of Menon's possible visit, the sources said. An official of the foreign ministry wishing anonymity told The Daily Star that there was a violation of protocol. According to the protocol, the Indian foreign secretary should have held official talks with his counterpart first before making courtesy calls on the foreign minister and the PM. "This time the protocol was violated as the Indian foreign minister was allowed to meet the prime minister first, and then the army chief," said the official. When contacted, a spokesman of the Indian High Commission termed Menon's visit a regular one, saying they usually do not make public announcements if anyone comes from India. "It is rather on the host to announce the arrivals of such foreign dignitaries," he added. At the meeting with Menon, Dipu Moni expressed Dhaka's concerns about the controversial project, lest it eats up Bangladesh's due share of the international River Meghna, which supplies water to hundreds of water bodies in the region. "They are trying to remove our concerns about the Tipaimukh Dam. He told me that Bangladesh should send a delegation comprising technical and political people to see the project firsthand," Touhid Hossain told reporters following his meeting with Menon. He said through the proper forum Bangladesh will take a decision regarding the invitation. "On water, for instance, there were some concerns expressed and I said we would be very happy to receive a delegation from Bangladesh, to show them exactly what is happening, what we planned," Menon told reporters after he met Dipu Moni, State Minister for Foreign Affairs Hasan Mahmud, and the foreign secretary. "What we planned is a river project which will not affect the down stream flow at all," Menon said adding, "This is a part of the on going dialogue between friends, between neighbours, it is natural, we will keep discussing the issues finding ways forward." He said security was also one of the issues he discussed with Dipu Moni. "We discussed it in all the conversations, about how important it is for both Bangladesh and India. And this is something that is in our common interest, that we eliminate terrorism from our region, and that we do this together. So, we will continue to work together in that direction." The Indian foreign secretary left Dhaka last night. India in 2003 initiated the move to construct a dam over the cross-boundary River Barak which enters Bangladesh through Sylhet region ultimately meeting the Meghna. It started the construction work by the end of last year without consulting Bangladesh. http://www.thedailystar.net/newDesign/news-details.php?nid=84076 |
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