Bangladesh has suggested greater political exchanges to close the gaps in this critical area, which led to India not being able to honour its commitments to a river water accord and land boundary realignment.
In the first high-level contact after the elections, Speaker of Bangladesh Parliament Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury, at meetings with President Pranab Mukherjee, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and her Indian counterpart Meira Kumar, highlighted people-to-people contact as the most important component of overall connectivity, according to Bangladesh High Commission officials
The Bangladesh Speaker underscored increased parliamentary cooperation, by making Parliaments act as catalyst institutions. She was keen on further activating the India-Bangladesh Parliamentary Friendship Group and enhancing interaction among Parliaments, proposed institutional mechanisms, such as a Parliamentary Joint Working Group, to deal with important issues and Standing Committee collaboration.
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Mr. Mukherjee congratulated Dr. Chaudhury her on election as Speaker for the second consecutive time.
At her meeting with Dr. Singh, the Speaker raised the pending issues of the Land Boundary Agreement and the interim Agreement for Teesta Water Sharing. The Prime Minister reiterated his government’s commitment to fulfil its obligations and assured her that it was trying its best for a broad-based political consensus.
Dr. Singh appreciated Bangladesh’s assistance in security-related matters and the measures taken by Bangladesh for protection of minorities. He assured the Bangladeshi leader of India’s sincerity in addressing the bilateral trade deficit and exploring the possibility of exporting additional power to Bangladesh, the officials said.
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