India to finalise Teesta deal: Manmohan

Thimphu, 29 April 2010 (SANS Correspondent): 

Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has said his country would extend all out support for uninterrupted democratic process in Bangladesh. He also said India would take necessary measures for finalising the draft agreement on Teesta Water Sharing which was handed over to Indian government in March this year. He said this when Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina paid a courtesy call to the Indian leader on Thursday morning at India House in SAARC Village in Thimphu, Prime Minister’s press secretary Abul Kalam Azad told reporters after the meeting between the two leaders. They were in the Bhutanese capital for the two-day 16th SAARC Summit that began on Wednesday. ‘India would extend all out support for continuation of the democratic process in Bangladesh,’ Manmohan was quoted having told Sheikh Hasina. The two leaders stressed on implementation of the four agreements and the Memorandum of Understanding signed during prime minister Sheikh Hasina’s recent visit to New Delhi  Manmohan Singh said his country would soon provide $ one billion in soft loan for infrastructure development in Bangladesh.
   Hasina requested Manmohan to expedite finalising the draft agreement on Teesta Water Sharing which he agreed to do.  A ministerial meeting of the Joint Rivers Commission in New Delhi last month failed to conclude negotiations on an interim deal and ended merely with the exchange of draft agreements. She expressed her satisfaction over the existing bilateral relations between the two countries and invited Manmohan Singh to visit Bangladesh at a convenient time. The Indian Prime Minister accepted the invitation, the press secretary said.
   During Sheikh Hasina’s Delhi visit in January, the two countries signed agreements on fight against terrorism and organised crime and mutual transfer of convicted prisoners. India agreed to remove 47 items from its negative list to give Bangladeshi products duty-free access to its market. India also announced it would give Bangladesh transit to Nepal and Bhutan, and export 250 megawatts of electricity from its central grid.