Key takeaways from Sheikh Hasina's Delhi visit
A two-minute read on major announcements by Bangladesh and India
If not a major breakthrough, Bangladesh and India during Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's two-day visit to New Delhi at least had a forward looking decision in the field of water sharing. Ice melts in that way, experts say.
Why it matter: As one of the major contentious issues was Teesta, here is a ray of hope following official talks between Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The announcements include:
- Visit of technical delegations to Bangladesh for project on conservation and management of Teesta river inside Bangladesh. (Remember China has a proposal and PM Hasina is likely to visit Beijing next month)
- Joint technical committee for discussions on renewal of the Ganges water treaty in 1996. (The 30-year treaty expires in 2026)
Win-win & gains: Dhaka and Delhi Saturday signed 10 instruments including two shared vision on digital & green partnership. Decisions also include:
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- Maritime cooperation in the Bay of Bengal & the Indian Ocean.
- E-visa for medical patients from Bangladesh.
- New train service between Rajshahi & Kolkata.
- New bus service from Chittagong to Kolkata.
- Goods train between Gede (India)-Darsana (Bangladesh) and Handibari (India)-Chilahati (Bangladesh) upto Dalgaon (Assam, India).
- Commercial agreement between NPC and Bangladesh Bank to launch UPI (unified payment interface).
Regional cooperation: Two counties took also some decisions involving regional cooperation:
- Bangladesh joined Indo-Pacific Oceans Initiative.
- 40 megawatt power from Nepal to Bangladesh through Indian grid.
State of Play: Both Bangladesh and India consider each other "special partner". Sheikh Hasina was the first head of the government/state to pay a bilateral state visit to New Delhi after Narendra Modi took over for a third straight term. Hasina was among the world leaders joining Modi's oath taking on June 9. But, in less than two weeks she made the bilateral visit.
- Sheikh Hasina expressed deep appreciation for India's role as a major neighbour, trusted friend, and regional partner.
- PM Modi said: Though in the last 1 year, we have met 10 times, today's is a special meeting as PM Sheikh Hasina is our first state guest in our third tenure.
- The two PMs had a tete-a-tete (one-to-one) meeting prior to the official talks.
