Representative image Dhaka and New Delhi will advance the discussion on much-awaiting Teesta water sharing treaty after the India’s upcoming general election scheduled to be held in April-May, Foreign Minister Dr Hasan Mahmud said on Monday.
“The election procedure will start in India from next month, the polls will be held in April-May … we discussed that we would advance the matter (Teesta water sharing deal) after the Indian election,” he told journalists at a briefing at the Foreign Ministry in the afternoon, referring to his meeting with Indian External Affairs Minister Dr S. Jaishankar in New Delhi on Wednesday.
“There is no objection of Indian central government over the Teesta deal, objection was made by (West Bengal) the state government,” he said.
During the meeting, Dr Mahmud said he also stressed on the renewal of the Ganges water-sharing treaty that is set to expire in 2026.
Regarding the border killing along the Bangladesh-India frontier, he said, both the ministers reiterated the consensus on earlier decision of not using any lethal weapon along the border to avoid any tragic incident.
“He (Indian external affairs minister) agreed with me that if non-lethal weapon is used at the border area, such incidents (killing) will be reduced. We expressed our consensus on the issue,” he said adding that he also discussed on security cooperation between the two neighboring countries.
The foreign minister said they have also discussed the current conflicting situation of Myanmar in details and agreed to work together on the issue as both the countries share borders with that country.
He also reiterated Dhaka’s call for Indian support in the repatriation of displaced Rohingyas to their land of origin in Myanmar with all citizen rights.
Dr Mahmud said they also discussed on various matters related to sub regional and multi lateral issues including BIMSTEC, SAARC and BBIN framework.
At the invitation of Indian External Affairs Minister Dr Jaishankar, Mahmud paid an official visit to India from February 7-9, 2024.
Apart from having bilateral talks with Jaishankar, Bangladesh foreign minister also met with Indian President Droupadi Murmu, Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar, commerce minister Piyush Goyal and National Security Adviser (NSA) Ajit Doval as well as addressed numbers of civil society gathering.
