Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina Wajed on Tuesday declined to comment on New Delhi's failure to deliver on a promised agreement on sharing the waters of the Teesta river, but said that she was “disappointed [West Bengal Chief Minister] Mamata Banerjee did not come to Dhaka.”
Sheikh Hasina was interacting with journalists here after her summit with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
Bangladesh's Foreign Secretary Mizarul Kayes also said water sharing was a “very important issue for Bangladesh,” but added that his country was not “looking at the bilateral relationship on a visit basis.” Instead, he said, the agreements represented “incremental progress” in the India-Bangladesh relationship.” “The Indian Prime Minister's visit is a celebration of the positive trend,” Mr. Kayes argued.
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Dr. Singh said New Delhi would continue discussions on the water issue, saying that “our common rivers need not be the source of discord.”
He also thanked Bangladesh for its unprecedented security cooperation in recent years, saying it had played a key role in aiding India's war against terrorism.