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India, Bangladesh should jointly fight anti-1971 forces, says PM Modi
India, Bangladesh sign seven deals including on Kushiyara river
Kallol BhattacherjeeNEW DELHISEPTEMBER 07, 2022 20:16 IST
India and Bangladesh should resolve all bilateral issuesincluding the difference over the waters of the Teesta, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said here on Tuesday. After holding bilateral talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the visiting leader described India as the "most important and closest neighbour" that is bound with Bangladesh through 54 common rivers and four thousand kilometres of border. The two sides signed seven agreements covering railways, science and technology, space cooperation, media, and water sharing.
Welcoming Ms. Hasina, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said, India will walk beside Bangladesh to defeat the anti-1971 forces.
"The two countries had resolved many outstanding issues in the spirit of friendship and cooperation and we hope that all outstanding issues including Teesta Water Sharing Treaty would be concluded at an early date," said Prime Minister Hasina referring to the long standing riparian issue that has eluded resolution. The two sides however made a significant beginning in river water sharing by reaching an agreement on withdrawal of water from the common border river Kushiyara that will supply water to parts of lower Assam as well as Sylhet of Bangladesh.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi highlighted the values that made India and Bangladesh to put up a joint fight in the war of 1971 and said, “In order keep the spirit of 1971 alive, it is necessary that we should confront those forces that want to hurt our common values.
Foreign Secretary Vinay Mohan Kwatra in a press interaction said that the agreement over Kushiyara was the first river-related agreement that the two sides reached 26 years after the conclusion of the Ganga Waters Agreement of 1996. He also said that India has extended the period of sharing flood water related information in real time that will help Bangladesh counter the annual floods. Mr Kwatra did not mention the impact of the crisis in Ukraine on the economic prospects of the South Asian region, but hinted at it saying, that the two leaders discussed "regional and global issues".
The Ministry of Railways of India and the Ministry of Railways of Bangladesh signed an agreement on training of personnel of Bangladesh Railway in India. .