Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen has said the scheduled meeting of the Joint Rivers Commission (JRC) between Bangladesh and India has been deferred in order to make it fruitful through better preparations.
Stating that the meeting had been deferred through consensus, the minister said: "It will be held when both sides are ready with the required information and data on the table.”
“This will depend on further homework," Dr Momen added.
The Foreign Minister said this while talking to reporters after a program to mark the 25th anniversary of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action at the Central Shaheed Minar on Wednesday, reports UNB.
The Indian side felt there were weaknesses in some areas, said Dr Momen, adding that the talks would not be fruitful without proper information on the subject for the two sides to deliberate on.
Responding to a question on the National Register of Citizens (NRC) in India, he said deferring the JRC meeting had no link with the NRC.
The JRC meeting was scheduled to be held in New Delhi on December 19 to discuss a framework on a sharing of the waters of six common rivers --- the Muhuri, Monu, Dharla, Khowai, Gumti and Dudhkumar.
Earlier, in 2011, water sharing agreements on two rivers -- the Teesta and Feni -- were finalized, but no agreement was signed at the time.
Reiterating that India was not pushing anyone into Bangladesh, the Foreign Minister said: “Dhaka requested New Delhi to inform Bangladesh if there was any Bangladeshi living in India illegally, for there are standard procedures to follow in such cases.”
Terming India a friendly country from a historical perspective, Dr Momen hoped that India would maintain peace and stability regarding what Bangladesh wanted to see happening.
He said India had termed the NRC its internal matter and assured Dhaka that the measure would in no way affect Bangladesh.
