Sharing of River Teesta waters with Bangladesh yet to conclude: Mathai

Dhaka, Sep.7 (ANI): India has said that it will take ahead the parleys for an agreement on the sharing of River Teesta waters with Bangladesh.

Foreign Secretary Ranjan Mathai said this while briefing the media persons at Dhaka on Tuesday.

"We were not able to take forward the proposed agreement in Teesta. That will need some further consideration and further discussion. Because of that river water issue itself was not tackled in great depth today and the other agreement on Feni which was also in the works was not signed," said Mathai.

The deal to share water from two rivers - the Teesta and the Feni - that flow from the Himalayas through India and Bangladesh to the Bay of Bengal is considered to be very sensitive issue between both the countries.

The agreement was put on back foot as the state government of West Bengal refused to concur with the proposals.

Even if a deal was initialled by Singh and his counterpart, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, the endorsement of the Chief Minister of West Bengal, Mamata Banerjee, was essential for its implementation.

Mathai said both the countries wanted to reach on amicable resolution but at the moment they are not sure how much time it would take to materialise.

"I think the interest in having the quick agreement is shared by both sides. It is not that it is just Bangladesh which wants an early agreement. We would also like to have this issue resolved. I will be very frank with you, I do not have a timeline, I do not have specific plan of action. Obviously this issue came up quite recently when we were engaged fully in the preparations for the visit. So, I think it will take some time and when we go back and we have our deliberations, only then we will be able to make decision," added Mathai.

Earlier, Prime Ministers of India and Bangladesh signed a series of agreements although they failed to resolve their main disputes, over transit rights for India and the sharing of waters of certain trans-national rivers.

Prime Minister Singh arrived in the Bangladesh capital on Tuesday, with a large entourage of ministers and officials, for a visit that has been billed 'historic and insightful'.

This visit had aroused hopes that all or most of the long-standing issues of contention between the neighbours would be resolved.

Bangladesh and India signed a comprehensive framework agreement on bilateral cooperation, a protocol on land boundaries, memoranda of understanding on renewable energy and conservation of the Sunderbans mangroves, which happen to be the home to the Royal Bengal tigers.

An addendum was also signed to facilitate overland transit to Nepal so Bangladesh can transport goods to the land-locked Himalayan state using a small portion of Indian land.

India also agreed to allow duty-free access to 46 types of garments from Bangladesh to the Indian markets, with immediate effect, which Bangladeshi businessmen termed a long-awaited achievement.

There was also no agreement on an Indian request for transit rights through Bangladesh for India's land-locked northeastern states such as Mizoram, Manipur and Tripura.

Dhaka has contended that the deal may not be possible if India did not sign the water sharing agreement.

The two countries have struggled to establish good ties ever since India helped its eastern neighbour to emerge as independent Bangladesh in 1971 from what was then East Pakistan.

Ties have also suffered over recent years because of Indian worries Islamist militants were using Bangladesh as a base.

Analysts say India wants a lasting, stable relationship with Bangladesh, an emerging economy and big market for Indian goods, no matter who rules in Dhaka.

Bilateral trade has grown steadily but remains heavily in India's favour, with the gap widening, causing concern in Bangladesh where businesses are asking for the removal of both tariff and non-tariff barriers. By Navin Kapoor (ANI)