Several fishing boats in Rameswaram. File | Photo: L. Balachandar/The Hindu.
India and Bangladesh on Sunday (January 5, 2025) exchanged fishermen who had been arrested by both sides for the past three months. The Bangladesh Coast Guard found 90 Bangladeshi fishermen, while the Indian Coast Guard found 95 Indian fishermen.
India returned two Bangladeshi fishing vessels and six Indian fishing vessels were returned by Bangladesh as part of an exchange held along the western International Maritime Boundary Line. The process was overseen by officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and other law enforcement agencies of Bangladesh.
Earlier this week, Ministry of External Affairs Official Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal dismissed suggestions that the arrest of fishermen by both countries is indicative of a negative turn in Indo-Bangladesh relations. The arrest of fishermen on both sides and the exchange on Sunday (January 5, 2025) drew attention to the fact that the arrests took place despite India and Bangladesh agreeing on the Maritime Boundary in 2014.
Published – January 05, 2025 10:48 pm IST