Bangladesh will be discussing Teesta water sharing deal and ratification of the land boundary agreement (Land Boundary Agreement) during the upcoming visit of Indian Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj.
“Bangladesh will raise the issues during the bilateral talks between the two foreign ministers,” said a senior official of the Foreign Ministry. Indian Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj will pay a goodwill visit to Bangladesh from June 25-27 at the invitation of her Bangladeshi counterpart Abul Hassan Mahmood Ali.
Bangladesh High Commissioner to India Tariq A Karim met Indian Home Minister Rajnath Singh and Water Resources Minister Uma Bharati last week, said another official.
“Tariq also met Indian State Minister for Foreign Affairs BK Singh and Foreign Secretary Sujatha Singh last week,” he added.
Teesta water sharing agreement was supposed to be signed during the visit of the immediate past Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s visit to Dhaka in 2011 but was not in the face of stern opposition by West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.
The LBA was inked in 1974 and Bangladesh ratified it the same year but India is yet to do that on its part. Former Indian Foreign Minister Salman Khurshid placed a bill to amend the constitution at the Rajya Sabha to pave the way for ratification but it is yet to be passed.
The Bharatiya Janata Party during its election campaigns strongly opposed any move to hastily settle border disputes with Bangladesh.
This will be Sushma’s first foreign visit after she assumed office in May.
Foreign ministers of both the countries will have bilateral discussions during the visit. She will also meet President Abdul Hamid and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
The Indian foreign minister will deliver a speech on June 26 where she will explain the present state of Bangladesh-India relationship and the future course of action, said an official of the Foreign Ministry.
She will also have engagement with think tanks, chambers of commerce and industry and cultural organisations.
The visit is expected to improve bilateral ties between the two neighbouring countries.