Staff Reporter: Bangladesh has submitted to the United Nations revised information regarding the extended boundary of the continental shelf in the Bay of Bengal. On Thursday, the Permanent Representative of Bangladesh to the United Nations, Ambassador Rabab Fatima, formally handed over the revised information on the continental shelf to Dmitry Ganchar, Acting Director of of Division of Ocean Affairs and Law of the Sea (DOALOS). This information has been given in a press release sent by the Bangladesh Mission to the United Nations.
While handing over the Executive Summary of the Submission to the Director of DOALOS, Bangladesh Ambassador expressed expectation that the amended submission will be included in the agenda of the Commission in its next session. Ambassador Fatima also highlighted that the determination of outer continental shelf will enable Bangladesh to explore and exploit natural resources of the seabed and subsoil in those areas.
It may be mentioned here that the original submission to the CLCS was made on 25 February 2011. Subsequently, under the leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, the maritime boundaries of Bangladesh with Myanmar and India were delimited in 2012 and 2014, through international adjudication process. The amended submission has been made to reflect the successful outcomes of those international processes.
As per rule, a sub-commission will subsequently be formed which will examine the information provided by Bangladesh and upon satisfaction, make necessary recommendations on the limits of Bangladesh’s outer continental shelf in the Bay of Bengal.
The amended submission has been prepared by an expert team lead by the Maritime Affairs Unit of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs with support from local and international experts.
BP/SM
