Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s ongoing state visit to India ends on Thursday. After a meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday, where the Kushiyara river sharing agreement was signed, Ms. Hasina said she hoped the Teesta issue would be resolved “soon”. Speaking to The Hindu, Bangladesh’s Foreign Minister Shahriar Alam says the visit was productive, and Bangladesh and India have an understanding of even difficult issues like Rohingya refugees and minority rights.
What, according to you, are the major outcomes of this visit?
This visit is special, even though we are quite frequent visitors to each other’s capital. Firstly, it comes after Prime Minister Narendra Modi and then President Ramnath Kovind visited Dhaka in the same calendar year [2021], which is unprecedented. Our celebrations for the centenary of the Father of the Nation [Sheikh Mujibur Rahman] and 50 years of our independence, the 50th year of our relationship coincided with India’s celebrations of 75 years of independence. We have seven tangible outcomes and seven MoUs. The Kushiyara water sharing agreement is only the second river water sharing in 25 years agreement. This will, create a fresh enthusiasm for the Teesta agreement. We understand the domestic compulsions [with the West Bengal government]. But what Prime Minister said to Indian media prior to departing Dhaka for Delhi is that she expects Delhi to do more, and work a little harder. So, I think the message is clear. We have other areas where we need to ease the life between the two countries, whether they are in business or in exchange for technology exchange of ideas, and the other MoUs will help people come even closer.
