India and Bangladesh signed 10 agreements/MoUs and announced over a dozen other initiatives - spanning across areas like connectivity, health, trade, energy, defence and maritime cooperation - as PM Modi hosted his counterpart Sheikh Hasina for the first state visit after the formation of the new NDA govt. Among the new initiatives was an announcement by Modi after the meeting that India will soon send a technical team to Bangladesh for management and conservation of the Teesta river inside Bangladesh.
The announcement is significant as it comes amid efforts by China to convince Dhaka to allow it to develop the Teesta basin. Aware of India’s reservations about China’s role, Bangladesh has maintained it will consider “geopolitical issues” before going ahead with the project, which will apparently cost $1 billion. Hasina is expected to soon visit China, a country Dhaka - in a fine balancing act - continues to have strong economic ties with for its development needs. “As part of our development cooperation, we will also undertake conservation and management of Teesta river inside Bangladesh with Indian assistance within a mutually agreed timeframe,” said a joint statement, in which the two heads announced a shared vision for commerce, connectivity and collaboration.
Sharing of Teesta waters has remained a long outstanding issue between the countries, after opposition from West Bengal prevented them from signing a watersharing agreement finalised during the UPA govt. India’s technical team is expected to first examine if there’s any need for a reservoir to be built, something which the Chinese have reportedly suggested. For India, it’s important that Bangladesh remains mindful of Indian security concerns while pursuing economic projects with Beijing.
They also welcomed formation of a Joint Technical Committee to initiate discussions for the renewal of the Ganges Water Sharing Treaty of 1996. They pledged to intensify cooperation in border management, counterterrorism and against radicalisation, while agreeing to start talks for a comprehensive economic partnership agreement (CEPA).
There was focus on longterm defence cooperation as well as India and Bangladesh signed an MoU for cooperation concerning military education in the field of strategic and operational studies. For modernisation of the Bangladesh Armed Forces, the leaders said they will explore defence industrial cooperation, while ramping up military engagements in the form of exercises, training and capability development.
