Nov 16, 2008, 8:43 GMT
Dhaka - Bangladesh and Myanmar began talks Sunday on the demarcation of their maritime border, which caused tension earlier this month between the neighbours over off-shore hydrocarbon exploration.
Bangladesh's additional Foreign Secretary MAK Mahmud and Myanmar deputy minister Maung Myit lead their respective delegations at the talks in progress in Bangladesh capital.
The dialogue will come against the backdrop of movement of warships in the Bay of Bengal by both the countries after Myanmar's alleged intrusion into Bangladesh's territorial waters for oil and gas exploration.
The two nations met earlier in April 2008 to discuss the maritime demarcation issues after a break of more than two decades.
Both the sides had agreed at that time that neither would begin exploration in the disputed areas of mineral-rich Bay of Bengal until their boundaries are demarcated as per the United Nations Convention on Law of the Sea.
But Yangon began oil and gas exploration activities in an area claimed by both countries in the Bay of Bengal.
The dispute cooled after Dhaka sent letters of protest followed by a high-level delegation to Yangon for discussion and requested South Korean industrial giant Daewoo pull out its installation from the exploration site. Dhaka also involved Beijing in the process to defuse tension.
Bangladesh's chief adviser Fakhruddin Ahmed and Myanmar Prime Minister General Thein Sein also discussed the issue Thursday when they met on the sidelines of the second summit of the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation in New Delhi.
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