Water sharing, transit top agenda

Posted on 9/6/2009 at 7:25 PM - Post Comment

Foreign minister Dr Dipu Moni will leave Dhaka for Delhi on a three-day official visit. This will be her first official visit although she had meetings with her Indian counterpart SM Krishna and Indian finance minister Pranab Mukherjee in Delhi while she was attending the SAARC ministerial meeting on children held in the Srilankan capital in the last month. The diplomatic source termed Dipu Moni''s visit as groundwork for Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina''s forthcoming visit to India, which might take place either at the end of October or first half of November next. While briefing the newsmen Sunday both Dipu Moni and Indian High Commissioner Pinak Ranjan Chakravarty said that entire gamut of bi-lateral relations would come up for discussion, which includes trade, water, security, connectivity and border management. Diplomatic source indicated that Bangladesh would focus on water sharing of all common rivers including that of Teesta. It was hinted some progress could be made regarding Teesta''s water sharing. The FM told the newsmen that subject to the outcome of her discussions with Indian external affairs minister S M Krishna and other Indian Ministers, agreements on thereplica watchessharing of water, cooperation in railway sector and closing a wide trade imbalance might be inked during the Prime Minister''s planned tour. Asked what would be the priority issues from Bangladesh side to be raised and discussed, the Foreign Minister mentioned connectivity, distribution of waters of the common rivers, demarcation of border, including the Tin Bigha corridor, and cooperation in the railway sectors. She said India''s Tipaimukh dam would come up though the Indian Prime Minister categorically assured the Bangladesh Prime Minister that New Delhi wouldn''t do anything inimical to Bangladesh''s interests. Dipu said negotiations on maritime boundary with India and Myanmar continued and hoped for a negotiated settlement of the issue. During her stay in the Indian capital, she will make courtesy call on Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh and several cabinet ministers, including Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, Railway Panerai watchesMinister Mamta Bandapadhaya, and the Ministers for Power and Energy and Water Resources. Bangladesh had abandoned its earlier stand on the Teest''s water sharing, which would help resolve this long-standing issue, sources said. It was hinted an agreement could be signed in which Bangladesh would get 40 per cent share of the water of Teesta river and India would get the rest 60 per cent of water. Regarding connectivity or Transit, Bangladesh may agree in principle to allow India to use Chittagong port for transportation of commercial goods to the land-locked northeastern Rolex watchesIndian states. The discussion will also take place on road and rail transit or connectively but no substantial development would take place from the current visit of the foreign minister, the source said. The Tipaimukh Dam issue would also come up for discussion but the Indian side once again re-iterated that Delhi would not do anything that would harm Bangladesh but it would not abandon the Tipaimukh project. The Indian side would also insist for signing the extradition treaty for exchanging undesirable countries of the two countries but substantial development in this regard may not take place, Zenith watches the source added. While discussing the economic cooperation, the Indian side would urge Bangladesh to expedite the signing of the Free Trade Agreement (FTA). But Bangladesh yet to make its firm position on the issue. Country''s business section feels that ground is not prepared enough for signing the FTA with India.

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