Bangladesh submits amended docs to UN on limits of outer continental shelf in Bay

Permanent Representative of Bangladesh to the UN, ambassador Rabab Fatima (R) lodges amended submission to Dmitry Gonchar, the acting director of Division of Ocean Affairs and Law of the Sea in New York on 22 October 2020
Bangladesh Permanent Mission to the United Nations

Bangladesh has lodged an amended submission on the limits of its outer continental shelf in the Bay of Bengal to the United Nations, reports news agency UNB.

The Submission has formally been handed over by the Permanent Representative of Bangladesh to the UN, ambassador Rabab Fatima to Dmitry Gonchar, the acting director of Division of Ocean Affairs and Law of the Sea (DOALOS).

While handing over the executive summary of the Submission, Fatima expressed expectations that the amended submission would be included in the agenda of the Commission in its next session, said the Bangladesh mission on Friday.

She also highlighted that the determination of the outer continental shelf would enable Bangladesh to explore and utilise natural resources of the seabed and subsoil in those areas.

The original submission to the CLCS was made on 25 February 2011.

Under the leadership of prime minister Sheikh Hasina, the maritime boundaries of Bangladesh with Myanmar and India were delimited in 2012 and 2014, through the 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.

The amended submission has been prepared by an expert team led by the Maritime Affairs Unit of the foreign ministry with support from local and international experts.