India has said water-related cooperation and discussions with Bangladesh should be conducted through existing bilateral mechanisms, including the Joint Rivers Commission (JRC), noting that the two countries share 54 rivers.
Randhir Jaiswal, spokesperson for India’s Ministry of External Affairs, made the remarks at a media briefing on Tuesday in response to a question about Bangladesh’s efforts to explore Chinese investment in the Teesta project.
“There are several rivers which are shared between Bangladesh and India. In fact, 54 rivers are shared between the two countries,” Jaiswal said, adding that water-related discussions should take place through the JRC and other established dialogue mechanisms.
Bangladesh Water Resources Minister Shahiduddin Chowdhury Anee recently said Dhaka did not want its relations with India to deteriorate over the long-pending Teesta water-sharing treaty. He urged New Delhi to consider Bangladesh’s interests alongside its own.
Asked about a recent UN Security Council monitoring report that mentioned concerns over AQIS seeking to establish cells in Bangladesh, Jaiswal said terrorism and security should be a shared concern.
The report, submitted on August 10, covers the period from December 16, 2025 to June 9, 2026. Bangladesh is mentioned once, stating that there was “some concern” that AQIS could seek to establish cells in the country.
State Minister for Foreign Affairs Shama Obaed Islam said Bangladesh had no specific information on the matter and that the Home Ministry was looking into it. She also said Foreign Minister Dr Khalilur Rahman would raise the issue with relevant UN authorities.
Bangladesh-India ties
Jaiswal said India wants “positive, constructive and forward-looking” relations with Bangladesh based on mutual interest and reciprocity.
On energy cooperation, he said existing arrangements remain in place, while any additional supply requests would be considered based on India’s own requirements and available capacity.
There was also no update from either side on a possible visit by Prime Minister Tarique Rahman to India.
