When Teesta treaty loomed large on India-Bangla ties

home minister Rajnath Singh reached Dhaka on Friday for a three-day visit to hold wide-ranging talks with the Bangladesh government on issues including antiterror mechanisms and the Rohingya refugee crisis. Both countries have come a long way from 2011, when the Teesta water accord was caught in a diplomatic logjam. Bangladesh wanted the long-pending treaty to be signed, but the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government then in power had to contend with opposition from its ally, West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee. In 2011, the UPA government was keen to meet the demand of Bangladesh, one of India’s best friends in South Asia. Bangladesh wanted a higher share of the Teesta water to feed its northern agrarian areas. Critics of Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina had begun calling the Teesta, which originates in Sikkim and flows into Bangladesh via West Bengal, as a reminder of the suffering inflicted by India on Bangladesh. The West Bengal government opposed the demand, and consensus on the issue remained elusive. The water treaty never threatened to jeopardise the trusted relationship between the two neighbours, but it certainly became a thorn in the flesh of India’s diplomatic endeavour towards Bangladesh. In the neighbouring country, it even looked like an election plank against Hasina. The 2011 Dhaka trip highlighted how the government needed to take stakeholder states on board for improving ties with neighbours and sealing bilateral agreements.

While the Teesta accord still remains an unresolved issue, India and Bangladesh have been able to complete the transfer of each other’s enclaves, step up economic ties and enhance cooperation in other areas.

Bangladesh also remains one of India’s most important neighbours.

During Rajnath Singh’s visit to Dhaka, the Rohingya refugee crisis and anti-terrorism cooperation loom as the key subjects of bilateral discussions.

Bangladesh has given shelter to Rohingyas for humanitarian considerations. India has sent relief consignments worth millions of dollars.

On the terrorism front, the current regime in Bangladesh had delivered on promises.

Hasina had announced that her country’s soil can’t be used for any terror activities against India.

Rajnath’s tour is excepted to cement IndiaBangladesh ties further even as the Teesta water sharing accord remains to be inked.

NEWDELHI:Union