The recent idea put forth by Dr Dipu Moni, our honourable foreign minister, regarding a basin regime, is a solid initiative, and should be given priority in our foreign relations.
During her trip to India, Dipu Moni spoke of how we must deal with issues regarding water sharing at a multilateral level, in order to protect the interests of all of those who could potentially be affected. This includes other nations that are not always thought of in the context of water sharing issues, such as Bhutan and China.
We think that the foreign minister would now do well to ensure that the foreign ministry actually engages our neighbours in the kind of talks that would allow this kind of cooperation on this matter and others.
Greater cooperation in the region would potentially open up vast markets, allow for necessary dialogue, and ensure that the ties we maintain with our neighbours bring mutual benefits to all parties involved.
Currently, South Asia is one of the least integrated areas in the world. Our economic and diplomatic ties leave a lot to be desired, and we deny ourselves many opportunities because of our unwillingness to take the initiative.
The fact that this was brought up at high-level meetings show that we are now being more proactive in our approach, and this is something that we should all be able to get behind.
Many issues the country faces would benefit, or even require, a multilateral approach – water sharing is as good a place as any to start.
