European Union (EU) Special Envoy for the Indo-Pacific Gabriele Visentin Friday said they are still waiting for a final answer from Bangladesh on their offer to use the maritime awareness system CRIMARIO.
“We’re very positively engaging (with the Bangladesh authority). This is a very concrete proposal that is on the table,” he said while responding to a question during an interaction with diplomatic correspondents.
EU Critical Maritime Route Wider Indian Ocean (CRIMARIO) aims to support countries in the Indo-Pacific to enhance their maritime situational awareness (MSA), the sharing and fusion of data from various sources to achieve a comprehensive understanding of the maritime domain and to promote its security and safety.
“It’s software that can be used for many purposes. It could equip both navies and coastguards, and allows knowing what is exactly happening at sea,” said the EU special envoy, hoping that they would soon get a final answer from Bangladesh.
Visentin spoke at an interactive session organised by the Diplomatic Correspondents Association, Bangladesh (DCAB) at the Jatiya Press Club.
The EU special envoy highlighted seven priority areas for EU action – sustainable and inclusive prosperity, green transition, ocean governance, digital governance and partnerships, security and defence, connectivity, and human security.
Referring to one of the seven pillars of the EU’s Indo-Pacific Strategy – security and defence – he said they very much want to strengthen their presence in this area.
Deputy Head of Mission of the EU to Bangladesh Jeremy Opritesco, DCAB President Rezaul Karim Lotus and General Secretary AKM Moinuddin were also present.
Source: United News of Bangladesh