India is sending a technical team soon to Bangladesh for the proposed Teesta River conservation and management project.
Both countries will also take initiative for technical-level talks on the renewal of the 1996 Ganga Water Treaty as it expires in 2026.
India Prime Minister Narendra Modi made the announcement on Saturday after the bilateral meeting.
“For the conservation and management of Teesta River in Bangladesh, a technical team will visit Bangladesh soon," he said.
Bangladesh made the plan to conserve Teesta as India could not sign a water-sharing deal due to the opposition of the West Bengal government.
China showed interest to fund it as the project requires about $1 billion.
India also came up with their interest and it was expected that an announcement would come following the meeting of the two leaders.
Both leaders endorsed a vision statement for the peace and prosperity of the two nations.
"We have kept connectivity, commerce and collaboration as our focus. In the last 10 years, we have restored the connectivity that existed before 1965. We will now focus on digital and energy connectivity even more,” Modi said.
“This will speed up the economies of both countries. Both sides are ready to initiate talks on CEPA to take our economic ties to new heights...54 rivers connect India and Bangladesh - we have cooperated over flood management, early warning and drinking water projects,” he said.
“We have decided to take initiative for technical-level talks on the renewal of 1996 Ganga Water Treaty.”
Defence ties
As both leaders took stock of the whole range of bilateral relations, Modi said: “Will further strengthen our defence ties, we had detailed discussions from defence production to modernization of armed forces.
“We have decided to strengthen our cooperation over counter-terrorism, fundamentalism and peaceful management of the border. Our vision for the Indian Ocean Region is the same. We welcome Bangladesh's decision to join the Indo-Pacific Oceans Initiative. We will continue our cooperation at Bimstec and other regional and international forums," he said.
“Bangladesh is India's largest development partner and we give utmost priority to our relations with Bangladesh,” Modi added.
