DHAKA, 27 August 2022, (TON): The scheduled visit of Organisation of Islamic Cooperation secretary general Hissein Brahim Taha has been deferred as he is hospitalised.

A senior official at the ministry of foreign affairs said “he’s hospitalised. Therefore, the visit can’t take place at this time.”

The OIC secretary general was scheduled to arrive at 10:50am on Saturday. Taha was scheduled to meet prime minister Sheikh Hasina.

Taha was elected the new secretary general for a five-year term starting from November 17, 2021.

A national of the Republic of Chad, Taha took his oath of office on being elected secretary general of the OIC at the forty-seventh session of the Council of Foreign Ministers held on November 27-28, 2020 in Niamey, capital of the Republic of Niger.

NEW DELHI, 27 August 2022, (TON): The Indian Navy received indigenously-produced 30mm gun ammunition on Friday.

A Navy official described it as a milestone.

The official said "first ever 100 per cent indigenous 30mm HE gun ammunition for the services has been produced by M/s Economic Explosives Ltd, Nagpur.”

Satyanarayan Nuwal, CMD of the Solar Group, handed over the first consignment of the ammunition to Vice Chief of Naval Staff Vice Admiral SN Ghormade.

The official said "it is the first time that the services have placed an order on Indian private industry for the delivery of complete gun ammunition and the same was completed successfully within a short time period of 12 months.”

DHAKA, 27 August 2022, (TON): State Minister for Water Resources Zahid Farooque said “the Memorandum of Understanding on interim water sharing of Kushiyara river will be signed during Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s visit to India scheduled for September first week.”

He said the agreed draft of the MoU has been sent to the Indian Cabinet to complete the procedures before the signing

The state minister told reporters “we firmly believe that the MoU will be signed when our prime minister will be visiting India.”

He led the Bangladesh delegation at the Joint Rivers Commission meeting held in New Delhi. The JRC meeting was held after a pause of 12 years.

DHAKA, 27 August 2022, (TON): Bangladesh has been unanimously elected a member of the Executive Committee of the Commonwealth Board of Governors for the term 2022-2024.

The Commonwealth Executive Committee consists of sixteen members of which eight are the highest contributing member states and the other eight are elected from the four regions.

The Bangladesh High Commission in London said "Bangladesh has been elected a member of the Executive Committee from Asia-Europe region.”

The Executive Committee is mandated to oversee all matters related to finance, personnel and administration of the Commonwealth Secretariat.

DHAKA, 27 August 2022, (TON): Japanese Ambassador to Bangladesh ITO Naoki has said "Japan would continue working closely with the international community, including ASEAN, to improve the situation in Myanmar."

حe told a seminar on 'Rohingya Crisis "Japan will continue standing by the Government and the people of Bangladesh۔"

 The seminar was arranged on the day to mark the 5th year since the massive influx of Rohingyas to Bangladesh.

He also suggested the Bangladesh government making an exclusive effort by allowing private companies to hire Rohingyas to boost the livelihoods and skills development opportunities in Bhasan Char.

By Afshain Afzal

In a strange media announcement by Indian authorities on 25 August 2022, where claims are being made that Bangladesh and India have finalized the text of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on interim water sharing of Kushiyara river. Interestingly, no specifying date for the signing of MoU has been announced. One wonders how long New Delhi would be bluffing Dhaka about the finalization lollypop.

As per the details, at the 38th ministerial-level Joint Rivers Commission (JRC) meeting was held in New Delhi, after a gap of twelve years. A 17-member Bangladesh delegation, led by State Minister for Water Resources Zaheed Farooque attended JRC meeting while India's Jal Shakti (Water Resources) Minister Gajendra Singh Shakhawat led the Indian delegation. Bangladesh and India discussed several issues related to water-sharing, however, as usual Teesta and Ganga remained in the cold storage, despite touching upon.

If we recall, in October 2019, a MoU was signed in which both sides finalized the design and location of water intake point on the Feni river to meet the drinking water needs of Sabroom town in Tripura. as per the October 2019 Bangladesh-India MoU on this subject. No doubt, the drinking water agreement is important for Tripura state, which has history that remained part of Bengal and even today a good number of Bangali nationals are living there but India played the game in the selection of site and other modalities. There is requirement to revisit it and deprived people of Tripura must be compensated.

In a strange move, New Delhi has warned the participants from Bangladesh not to make any of the decision public as a symbolic announcement is likely to be made by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 6 September 2022. Despite Bangladesh State Minister for Water Resources Zaheed Farooque repeated requests to conclude discussion on the long pending Teesta water sharing treaty at an early date, noting concrete was done. Both side accused each other for the delay. However, India side later assured that New Delhi would make earnest efforts in concluding some interim agreement.

The Indian side persuaded Bangladeshi side that the agreement should take its own course and reports from technical team and comments over the feasibility study for optimum utilization of water are to be worked. Interestingly, India is referring report received by Bangladesh under the provision of the Ganges Water Sharing Treaty, 1996. It is irony that New Delhi is not ready to demolish Farakka and Gajoldoba barrages in order to ensure Bangladesh's water share in the trans-boundary Ganges and Teesta rivers.

India and Bangladesh share 54 rivers, of which seven rivers have been identified to reach frameworks of water sharing agreements. No doubt, such measures cannot not be short term as India is stressing generally on data exchange at this stage. New Delhi was reluctant to sign any MoU as Indian side claims that Technical Level Committee of JRC has not yet finalized. Representative of Technical Level Committee of JRC said at the end of meeting, “It cannot do anything overnight meeting as discussion is to be followed by evaluation and reports.” He said, “Exchange of flood related data and information, river bank protection works, common basin management, and also Indian River Interlinking Project were part of discussion and Bangladesh should be obliged as India has agreed to provision of flood related data and information, otherwise it is Bangladesh which is creating delays.”

To conclude, the Ganges Water Sharing Agreement will expire in 2026 and Bangladesh is not happy over 25 August meeting as it was an eyewash. By discussing projects like mere river bank protection works, addressing river pollution, conducting joint studies on sedimentation management etc, the core water issues cannot be resolved. India is more interested in protecting its interests rather than addressing Bangladeshi rights. Dhaka is well aware that India is not serious about resolving the water issues with Bangladesh. It is high time that New Delhi should start with demolition of Farakka and Gajoldoba barrages to ensure Bangladesh's water share in the trans-boundary Ganges and Teesta rivers as well as protect environment.

By TON Sri Lanka

On Wednesday, IMF delegation visited for the second after Sri Lanka struggles to get the $3bn to steer out of the crisis. A team from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) will met Sri Lanka’s president for talks to finalize a bailout package, including rearrangement debt of about $29bn, during the nation’s worst financial crisis in more than 7 decades.

The second such IMF visit in three months comes on Wednesday as the Indian Ocean Island scrambles to lock in a staff-level pact with the global lender for a possible $3bn programme to pave its way out of the crisis. The IMF team will met with the president and a finance ministry delegation The team will also held talks with the central bank governor and other officials, including representatives of Sri Lanka’s financial and legal advisers Lazard’s and Clifford Chance.

The main point of the talks was how to find a supportable method for Sri Lanka’s awkward debt, which stood at 114 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) at the end of last year, to settle a staff-level agreement in September. Sri Lanka has $9.6bn in mutual debt and its private credit, which includes international sovereign bonds, stands at $19.8bn, finance ministry data show.

Japan and China are the largest holders of bilateral debt to Sri Lanka, with the latter accounting for about $3.5bn. Overall, when commercial debt is added, China holds about a fifth of Sri Lanka’s debt portfolio. There was an issue that how to include Chinese and domestic debt in the talks. As it is considered that China is a part of the problem, and needs to be part of the solution this time also.

For months the population of 22 million has struggled with rising inflation, economic reduction and a severe scarcity of needed items of food, fuel and medicine caused by a record fall in foreign reserves. The country’s most severe financial crisis since independence from Britain in 1948 stemmed from the combined effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and economic mismanagement, stoking unprecedented protests.

In July, the then-president fled the country and resigned after a mass uprising triggered by what many Sri Lankans saw as his mishandling of the financial crisis. The current President who is also the finance minister, plans to ask Japan to lead talks on bilateral debt restructuring after Sri Lanka secures IMF support. IMF said it needs assurances from Sri Lanka’s creditors. The country’s debt burden is considered unmaintainable leading the lender to seek assurances from creditors

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has said it will need “adequate guarantees” from Sri Lanka’s creditors for a new program. The goal of the visit was to make headway on a staff-level agreement for an aid package to help the island nation weather a severe economic crisis.

Because Sri Lanka’s public debt is assessed as unsustainable, approval by the IMF Executive Board of the Extended Fund Facility program would require adequate assurances by Sri Lanka’s creditors that debt sustainability will be restored. Last week that Sri Lanka asked Japan to invite the Indian Ocean Island’s main creditor nations, including China to talks on bilateral debt restructuring.

The loan package is being negotiated with the IMF is for between $2bn and $3bn .The President wants to present an interim budget in September concentrating on fiscal consolidation measures decided with the IMF. The country of 22 million people is facing its most grave financial crisis since independence from Britain in 1948, resulting from the combined result of the COVID-19 pandemic and economic mismanagement.

Sri Lankans have been battling shortages for months amid crippling inflation and a devalued currency, stoking unprecedented mass protests. In early July, thousands of people attacked the colonial-era presidential residence in Colombo which forced the former president to flee.

By Sayful Haque, TON Bangladesh

Lately, the Prime Minister of Bangladesh said the authorities concerned to make a plan for buying fuel from Russia. During a recent meeting of the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (Ecnec), she asked why Bangladesh could not purchase fuel from Russia if India could. On August 6, the government raised the prices of fuel, including diesel which is extensively used in industrial, transport and agriculture sectors.

Diesel price was raised by 42.5 percent along with the prices of many needed products. Bangladesh currently purchases fuel, under long-term government-to-government agreements, from Gulf countries including Saudi Arabia and the UAE, and from companies in those countries. In late May, Russia, facing sanctions after its invasion of Ukraine on February 24, made an offer to sell crude oil to Bangladesh.

The offer was then declined partly because Russian crude oil is heavier than that imported from Arab countries, and the country's lone state-run refinery is designed to process the lighter crude oil. However, after the recent of meeting Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (Ecnec) it was not divulged whether the government was seeing the importing refined or crude oil from Russia, the world's third-largest oil producer in the world .

Despite the Russia-Ukraine war and people are suffering because of the increase in global fuel prices. India and other countries are buying oil from Russia. After Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the European Union, the UK and the US imposed sanctions on Russian products, including fuel. Nonetheless, India's oil import from Russia surged to record levels amid the sanctions due to a hefty discount.

According to Russian Ambassador, Bangladesh is in discussions with Russia to procure crude and refined oil for its home base necessities and a number of initiatives regarding the supply of Russian crude and refined oil are being debated both at the intergovernmental and business-to-business levels. In this regard, the samples of Russian crude oil will be provided to Bangladeshi experts to find out whether that can be refined here.

The primary discussions have started to explore the mechanisms to replace dollars in bilateral trade between the two countries with major logistical obstacles being removed, the negotiations are ongoing between Moscow and Dhaka to resume wheat purchase also on a G-to-G basis through the direct procurement method. Shared efforts of the two countries made it conceivable to increase the bilateral turnover manifold. In 2021, it reached an all-time high of almost USD 3 billion

Some of them are using alternative transportation routes to continue mutually beneficial trade. A large amount of items have been delivered by air. On August 1, a Russian cargo ship reached the port of Mongla for the first time since the beginning of the special military operation, thus marking the restoration of trade through waterways.

As a result, even in the first quarter of 2022, the turnover between our two countries increased to a size of USD 650 million, which is only slightly less than during the same period of 2021.In spite of the widespread delusion that all Russian banks came under sanctions, there are only 14 financial institutions that cannot provide services to the Bangladeshi partners due to the economic restrictions.

The bilateral trade operations are being carried out successfully through other Russian banks not affected by the Western restrictions and the Central Bank of the Russian Federation and the Bangladesh Bank remain in close contact discussing the ways to open correspondent accounts.

Concerning the energy sector cooperation, the construction of the Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant is being carried out without hindrance and as per schedule with help of Russia. Only on August 19, Gazprom International Investments BV has launched drilling of a new well in the gas fields of Bhola Island. Exploration of two more wells is expected to begin this year. It all shows a growing interest of both the countries Bangladesh and Russia to enhance their bilateral relations in the best interest of both countries.

ISTANBUL, 26 August 2022, (TON): Turkey’s top business association has confirmed receiving a letter from the US Treasury warning of possible sanctions if it continues doing business with Russia.

Washington is growing increasingly alarmed that the Russian government and businesses are using Turkey to evade Western financial and trading restrictions imposed in response to the Kremlin’s invasion of Ukraine six months ago.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin agreed to step up economic cooperation at a summit in the Black Sea resort of Sochi earlier this month.

Official data show the value of Turkish exports to Russia between May and July growing by nearly 50 percent from last year’s figure.

BRUSSELS, 26 August 2022, (TON): The bloc s foreign policy chief said European Union defence ministers will discuss options to set up a military training mission for Ukrainian forces at an Aug 29-30 meeting in Prague.”

Josep Borrell said “as EU, we have to see what else we can do in terms of support to Ukraine and increasing the cost of this war for Russia.”

“We will discuss this in Prague next week, including on the issue of visas for Russian citizens and a possible EU training mission for Ukrainian armed forces.”

Borrell referred to the idea of an EU military training programme at a conference in Spain, explaining that it would not be based in Ukraine, but in neighbouring countries.