Ties will take a huge hit if India cannot deliver on Teesta: Bangladesh foreign minister - The Times of India
NEW DELHI: India-Bangladesh relations "will take a huge hit" if India cannot deliver on the Teesta agreement, says Dipu Moni, foreign minister of Bangladesh. In an exclusive conversation with Times of India, Moni, who is in India for the first joint consultative committee meeting with foreign minister SM Krishna said, "on Teesta there is a huge expectation in Bangladesh. I think if India cannot deliver on that expectation, our relations will take a huge hit. I'm not sure our relationship can afford it. I believe people's representatives understand this. They will do what is right.
"In Bangladesh too there are people and groups who do not wish to see South Asia come together or our relations flourish. We should not arm them by withholding Teesta."
Coming a day after US secretary of state Hillary Clinton talked about water being a potential source of conflict in this region, it's a sign of growing pressure on the Indian government to get moving on Teesta.
According to sources, the central government has been working hard to get West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee to get off the bench on this agreement. Since this is now linked to Mamata's own wishlist from the Centre, there is expectation in the government that a political deal could be worked out after the current parliament session which ends on May 22.
In his joint press interaction, Krishna said, "We are trying to develop a political consensus in India. It is important that the views of all those who are dependent on the waters are taken into account and the burden is shared fairly and equitably. Meanwhile, there is no change in the ground situation. The waters are flowing, and in the last technical level meeting held in Kolkata in February this year, both sides exchanged data at Dalia in Bangladesh and Gazaldoba in India."
However, Dipu Moni expressed satisfaction at the trajectory of the bilateral relationship. "Lot of things are moving ahead. From our point of view, our trade has nearly trebled in the last three ears. We're very happy. We will see more investments from India."
While she is unwilling to make a direct linkage between Teesta and Bangladesh giving transit rights to India, Moni was clear that the former would "create a conducive environment" for other, more difficult agreements.
The other sticking point is the land boundary agreement which needs India to ratify the 1974 Indira-Mujib accord. This has been held up because of objections again by Mamata Banerjee. Moni articulated the Bangladeshi apprehension. "There is a lot of apprehension in those quarters. They say, 'India did not do it then, they will not do it now either.' That apprehension needs to be proven wrong. If, God forbid, it's not done now either, we will probably shut that door forever."
On the other hand, India-Bangladesh ties have probably never been as good as they are today. The two sides have established a joint river-basin management commission which will together manage the issues connected to 52 other rivers that are shared between Bangladesh and India. Moni said, "We have the joint basin management, we discussed it yesterday too. This would allay fears and apprehensions, lack of trust, build confidence. If we have that in place, people won't feel jittery about Tipaimukh, or river-linking projects. We would know, we would have the facts. India is agreeable and we're now putting in place a joint study group for Tipaimukh. I'm very excited that a lot of things we should have started a long time ago, we're starting now. Now we're absolutely on track, and we should move forward."
Krishna said yesterday, India would be ready to export 500 MW power to Bangladesh by the summer of 2013. India, he said, is facilitating 24-hour unfettered access to Bangladesh nationals at Dahagram and Angarporta through the Tin Bigha corridor; India-Bangladesh boundary strip maps by being signed; a coordinated border management plan is now in operation, and will help to reduce incidents on the border, including illegal and criminal activities and new border haats would be opened in Tripura and Mizoram.
NEW DELHI: India-Bangladesh relations "will take a huge hit" if India cannot deliver on the Teesta agreement, says Dipu Moni, foreign minister of Bangladesh. In an exclusive conversation with Times of India, Moni, who is in India for the first joint consultative committee meeting with foreign minister SM Krishna said, "on Teesta there is a huge expectation in Bangladesh. I think if India cannot deliver on that expectation, our relations will take a huge hit. I'm not sure our relationship can afford it. I believe people's representatives understand this. They will do what is right.
"In Bangladesh too there are people and groups who do not wish to see South Asia come together or our relations flourish. We should not arm them by withholding Teesta."
Coming a day after US secretary of state Hillary Clinton talked about water being a potential source of conflict in this region, it's a sign of growing pressure on the Indian government to get moving on Teesta.
According to sources, the central government has been working hard to get West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee to get off the bench on this agreement. Since this is now linked to Mamata's own wishlist from the Centre, there is expectation in the government that a political deal could be worked out after the current parliament session which ends on May 22.
In his joint press interaction, Krishna said, "We are trying to develop a political consensus in India. It is important that the views of all those who are dependent on the waters are taken into account and the burden is shared fairly and equitably. Meanwhile, there is no change in the ground situation. The waters are flowing, and in the last technical level meeting held in Kolkata in February this year, both sides exchanged data at Dalia in Bangladesh and Gazaldoba in India."
However, Dipu Moni expressed satisfaction at the trajectory of the bilateral relationship. "Lot of things are moving ahead. From our point of view, our trade has nearly trebled in the last three ears. We're very happy. We will see more investments from India."
While she is unwilling to make a direct linkage between Teesta and Bangladesh giving transit rights to India, Moni was clear that the former would "create a conducive environment" for other, more difficult agreements.
The other sticking point is the land boundary agreement which needs India to ratify the 1974 Indira-Mujib accord. This has been held up because of objections again by Mamata Banerjee. Moni articulated the Bangladeshi apprehension. "There is a lot of apprehension in those quarters. They say, 'India did not do it then, they will not do it now either.' That apprehension needs to be proven wrong. If, God forbid, it's not done now either, we will probably shut that door forever."
On the other hand, India-Bangladesh ties have probably never been as good as they are today. The two sides have established a joint river-basin management commission which will together manage the issues connected to 52 other rivers that are shared between Bangladesh and India. Moni said, "We have the joint basin management, we discussed it yesterday too. This would allay fears and apprehensions, lack of trust, build confidence. If we have that in place, people won't feel jittery about Tipaimukh, or river-linking projects. We would know, we would have the facts. India is agreeable and we're now putting in place a joint study group for Tipaimukh. I'm very excited that a lot of things we should have started a long time ago, we're starting now. Now we're absolutely on track, and we should move forward."
Krishna said yesterday, India would be ready to export 500 MW power to Bangladesh by the summer of 2013. India, he said, is facilitating 24-hour unfettered access to Bangladesh nationals at Dahagram and Angarporta through the Tin Bigha corridor; India-Bangladesh boundary strip maps by being signed; a coordinated border management plan is now in operation, and will help to reduce incidents on the border, including illegal and criminal activities and new border haats would be opened in Tripura and Mizoram.