Foreign Minister AH Mahmood Ali said on Thursday the government is pushing India to sign the much-delayed agreement on sharing Teesta river water, but ruled out any specific timeframe.
“The government’s diplomatic efforts are on to sign the Teesta deal very soon. It is being delayed because of India’s internal political complexities,” he said.
The Foreign Minister was responding to a starred question of AKM Jahangir Hossain (Patuakhali-3) in Parliament.
He informed the House that specific directives regarding the Teesta water sharing were given during Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s historic India visit in January 2010.
Dhaka and New Delhi were close to sign the deal during Indian Prime Minister’s Monmohan Singh’s visit to Bangladesh in September 2011, he said.
Mahmood Ali said the Indian prime minister regretted for not being able to sign the accord despite both sides’ sincere efforts.
On ratification of the Land Boundary Agreement the minister said Dhaka keeps reminding New Delhi to sign the deal. “It’s our expectation that Indian government will soon complete the ratification process of the deal.”
Source: UNBConnect