Dhaka : Bangladesh on Friday said there was no chance of bringing up the Teesta water sharing agreement during Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s two-day trip to Dhaka beginning on Saturday.
Speaking at a media briefing ahead of Modi’s trip, Bangladesh Foreign Minister A.H. Mahmood Ali, however, said the Teesta agreement was an ongoing process and “it is always under discussion”, according to prothom-alo.com.
The Daily Star said the minister urged all concerned “to have patience for a concrete outcome”.
“Diplomacy does not take place publicly, rather it happens behind the scenes,” the newspaper quoted Ali as saying during the briefing at his office.
He urged everyone to be patient.
Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s adviser Gowher Rizvi said his country has completed its task as far as the agreement was concerned and the pact would come about soon.
Rizvi said Modi’s visit would take forward India-Bangladesh bilateral ties.
Deals would be inked with some Indian private companies which will result in additional power production of 4,000-5,000 mega watts.
Ali said a transit duty to be charged for goods and services would be specified during the talks. The rates would be fixed after discussions.
The Indian prime minister will hold talks with his Bangladesh counterpart Hasina on Saturday, following which the land boundary agreement process will start, prothom-alo.com said.
Twenty agreements, protocols and memoranda of understanding are likely to be inked between the two countries during the visit.
They include the bilateral commercial agreement, internal marine protocol, coastal shipping agreement, product quality control cooperation agreement and cultural exchange agreement.
An MoU regarding financial help between India and Bangladesh will also be signed.
Modi will also place wreaths at Bangladesh’s National Memorial at Savar and Bangabandhu Museum – the residence of the country’s founding father and first president Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman in the city’s Dhanmondi area.
Modi is scheduled to pay a courtesy call on Bangladesh President Mohammad Abdul Hamid. He will receive from Hamid the “Bangladesh Liberation War Honour” on behalf of former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
According to The Daily Star, the 36-hour visit comes in the perfect backdrop of the historic unanimous passage of the constitutional amendment bill in the Indian parliament enabling the two nations to officially exchange land enclaves in each other’s territory.
Modi will meet Leader of the Opposition in Bangladesh parliament Roshan Ershad while Bangladesh Nationalist Party chief Khaleda Zia could also call on him.
Hasina is likely to host a banquet for Modi, to round off his programmes for Saturday.
On June 7, Modi will visit the Dhakeshwari temple in Dhaka city and inaugurate the Indian High Commission’s Chancery in the diplomatic enclave, besides addressing civil society members, intellectuals, political leaders and dignitaries at the Bangabandhu International Conference Centre before flying back home.
Modi is expected to lay out the Indo-Bangladesh friendship roadmap in front of students and youth at Dhaka University during his visit.
The Daily Star quoted sources as saying that Modi will also extend the Visa on Arrival and E-Visa facility to Bangladeshi citizens including businessmen and tourists travelling to India by air.
The two countries will also ink agreements on maritime economy, shipping and climate change as well as on joint conservation of the Sundarbans.