Indian Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla on Monday (Mar 2) said New Delhi was expected to finalise proposed deals with Bangladesh on seven common rivers excepting the Teesta by the yearend.
“We need to expedite harmonization these (water flow) data (of seven rivers) so that water sharing can be finalised as early as possible . . . possibly within this year,” he said while addressing as the keynote speaker at a seminar on Bangladesh-India relations at a Dhaka hotel, local media reported.
But he appeared to be uncertain about the deal on major Teesta river saying an agreement on water sharing of this particular stream could only be finalized on the basis on consensus of all the stakeholders, an apparent reference to India’s West Bengal state.
Shringla, who previously served as Indian high commissioner in Dhaka, however, said the Indian side was working on concluding the process of the agreement as early as possible.
“We know this is an emotive issue both side of the border … but there is no diminution of the commitment of our government,” he told the seminar joined as the chief guest by Bangladesh Prime Minister’s international affairs adviser Professor Dr Gawher Rizvi.
On August, Bangladesh and Indian agreed on preparing a framework or interim water-sharing agreements on seven rivers — Manu, Muhuri, Khowai, Gumti, Dharla, Feni, and Dudhkumar.
Bangladesh International and Strategic Studies (BIISS) and Indian High Commission in Dhaka jointly organized the seminar titled “Bangladesh and India: A Promising Future" where the Indian foreign secretary - who arrived Monday in his maiden two-day visit in Dhaka - gave the keynote speech. Indian High Commissioner to Bangladesh Riva Ganguly Das and BIISS Chairman Fazlul Karim also spoke.
The Indian foreign secretary said India and Bangladesh recognize there is ample room for progress on each of the rivers that both the neighbours share while serious dialogue has resumed between the officials responsible for water sharing matter since August 2019.
“Let me assure our friends here that we remain committed to finding the best possible solutions to sharing scarcities and hardships fairly during the dry season,” he said.
He said good arrangements to share waters of the 54 transboundary rivers in fair and environmentally sustainable manner lies in broader national interests of the two nations.
Shringla reiterated New Delhi’s assurance that India's National Register of Citizens (NRC) and Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) issues will have no impact on Bangladesh.
“This (NRC) is a process that is entirely internal to India . . . You have our assurance on that count,” he said.
Responding a question why border killings still took place after both border guards agreed to use non-lethal weapons the Indian foreign secretary attributed the incidents to cross-border criminal activities. He claimed that the casualty figures of Indians was equal to that of Bangladeshis but acknowledged that the border killing issue was consistently coming up in Bangladesh-India relationship.
“It is the responsibility of border forces on both sides to ensure that the border is respected and the place is kept safe stopping criminal activities,” Shringla said adding that “every death on the border was something that was a problematic issue.
Shringla suggested improving security, creating zero criminal activities, more cooperation, more joint patrolling and common border management plan, and bringing deaths zero level along the frontier.
About Rohingya issue, Shringla said there is no difference between India and Bangladesh on the way forward in addressing this major humanitarian problem.
Shringla described India as “the only country that is an actual neighbour of both Bangladesh and Myanmar” adding that it was committed to offering the fullest support for any mutually-acceptable solution to the crisis.
He said the solution should ensure earliest possible return of displaced persons to their homes in Rakhine State and to a life of dignity and the process “should be done in a manner that is safe, secure and sustainable”.
Shringla said India was deeply appreciative of Bangladesh’s humanitarian spirit in offering shelter to nearly one million forcibly displaced Rohingyas from Myanmar.
“We are consistent in our interventions with the Government of Myanmar at all levels, on the importance of closing IDP camps, facilitating socio-economic development projects, and in offering a conducive environment to encourage displaced persons to return to their homes in Myanmar from Bangladesh,” he said.
India’s top foreign ministry bureaucrat said Narendra Modi’s Dhaka visit later this month would fully exemplify “India’s strong sentiment of goodwill, trust and respect for Bangladesh”.
Indian Prime Minister Modi has been specially invited to participate in the inaugural ceremony of Mujib Year later this month.
“We are looking forward to this visit … because Bangabandhu is just so iconic – as a globally-recognized statesman and iconic symbol of liberation for Bangladesh and for our subcontinent,” he said.
In India, he said “there is a special resonance to his name. He is as revered and as remembered in India, as he is here in Bangladesh.”
Shringla arrived in Dhaka on a two-day visit in the morning and upon arrival at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport, he was received by his Bangladesh counterpart Masud Bin Momen.
