PM Narendra Modi, Hasina discuss Teesta deal; 5 MoUs signed

In a humanitarian gesture, Prime Minister Modi handed over a representational key of 109 ambulances to his counterpart Hasina

India and Bangladesh on Saturday agreed to go global to celebrate the 50th anniversary of bilateral diplomatic relations, but Prime Minister Narendra Modi refrained from making any new or specific commitment to his counterpart in the neighbouring country, Sheikh Hasina, for the early signing of the much-awaited deal on river Teesta.

The two Prime Ministers witnessed the signing of five pacts, including one for expanding cooperation in disaster management, resilience and mitigation and another for setting up a framework for trade remedial measures between Bangladesh and India. They also remotely participated in the ground-breaking ceremony for the development of infrastructure for energy evacuation facility from the Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant in Bangladesh.

Read | PM Narendra Modi meets Sheikh Hasina for talks

Modi had a formal meeting with Hasina before concluding his two-day visit to Bangladesh. “We reviewed the full range of India-Bangladesh relations and discussed ways to deepen economic and cultural linkages in the times to come,” he later posted on Twitter. He added that the pacts signed by the two nations for cooperation in key sectors such as disaster management, sports and youth affairs, trade, technology and others would add strength to development partnership and benefit the people, especially the youths.

The two Prime Ministers released commemorative stamps on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the diplomatic relations between India and Bangladesh. They also agreed to hold events on the occasion in 19 countries around the world.

India gifted 109 ambulances to Bangladesh. The Prime Minister also gifted 1.2 million Made-in-India Covishield vaccine to his counterpart in Dhaka to help Bangladesh deal with the Covid-19 pandemic.

Hasina, however, raised the issue of the agreement on sharing of water of common river Teesta. Modi reiterated India's “sincere and continued efforts” to conclude the agreement with Bangladesh “in consultation with relevant stakeholders”, Foreign Secretary Harsh Shringla later told journalists.

Teesta is a river that originates in Sikkim and flows through West Bengal in India before entering Bangladesh. Though New Delhi and Dhaka had in 2011 made a move to clinch a water-sharing deal, it was stalled as West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee refrained from giving her consent, stating that such a pact would result in water scarcity in the northern region of the state and hit hard the farmers.

Though Hasina on Saturday pressed for early signing of the agreement, Modi refrained from committing a time-line to sign the agreement, ostensibly because any public pledge by him could have been used by Banerjee’s Trinamool Congress against the Bharatiya Janata Party in the ongoing elections in West Bengal.

Shringla, however, highlighted India-Bangladesh cooperation on other common rivers. He said that the Modi-Hasina meeting saw India asking Bangladesh for the early finalisation of a draft for sharing of water of the river Feni.

Modi and Hasina on Saturday inaugurated three new border ‘haats’ (markets) along the boundary between India and Bangladesh. They also inaugurated the Mitali Express, the passenger train service between New Jalpaiguri in India to the capital of Bangladesh. They also discussed the proposed Swadhinata Sadak (Freedom Road), which would link Kolkata and Dhaka through Nadia in West Bengal.