DHAKA: A UN tribunal has awarded Bangladesh nearly four-fifths of an area spread over 25,000 sq km in the Bay of Bengal, ending a dispute over a sea border with India that has ruffled ties between the countries for more than 30 years.
The verdict, binding on both countries, opens the way for Bangladesh to explore for oil and gas in the Bay of Bengal, the site of important energy reserves.
“It is the victory of friendship and a win-win situation for the peoples of Bangladesh and India,” Foreign Minister Abul Hassan Mahmood Ali told a news conference yesterday to announce the ruling of the Hague-based Permanent Court of Arbitration on the sea boundary.
The dispute had hampered the economic development of both countries for more than three decades, he added.
“We commend India for its willingness to resolve this matter peacefully by legal means and for its acceptance of the tribunal’s judgment,” Ali added.
India welcomed the judgment.
“The settlement of the maritime boundary will further enhance mutual understanding and goodwill between India and Bangladesh by bringing to closure a long-pending issue,” the Ministry of External Affairs said.
REUTERS
