Teesta deal unlikely to be inked during PM's Delhi visit

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A deal between Bangladesh and India on sharing waters of the Teesta River is unlikely to be inked during Sheikh Hasina's upcoming visit to Delhi, Foreign Minister Dipu Moni has said, reports bdnews24.com.
"We are not hopeful that the agreement over sharing water of the common river Teesta will be signed during the Prime Minister's visit to India," Dipu Moni told reporters at a press briefing Thursday.
Her statement came just two days after Bangladesh and India at secretary-level talks of the Joint Rivers Commission (JRC) had said they had "narrowed down" their differences of position on sharing Teesta waters and would continue efforts to "expedite" a deal.
Dipu Moni said: "The secretary-level talks did make headway. I hope talks between the two Prime Ministers will make further progress."
Dhaka is still trying to fix a date for minister-level JRC talks, she added.
Meanwhile BSS adds, Bangladesh and India are expected to sign three specific agreements related to terrorism, sentenced prisoners and mutual assistance on criminal offences during PM's visit.
"Three treaties will be signed during the visit (and) these are; Agreement on Mutual Legal Assistance on Criminal Offences, Agreement on the Transfer of Sentenced Persons and Agreement on Combating International Terrorism, Organized Crime and Illegal Drug Trafficking," Moni told a press briefing three days ahead of the scheduled four-day tour.
She said the two sides were also set to sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on power swapping during Sheikh Hasina's first official visit to the Indian capital since the landmark December 29, 2008 elections installed her Awami League to power with three fourths majority.
The foreign minister, however, listed a number of issues to be discussed at the talks on January 11 between Hasina and her Indian counterpart Dr Manmohan Singh including water sharing of common rivers with particular reference to the Teesta.
Moni said the other major issues expected to be discussed at the summit included the cross-border Tipaimukh issue, capital dredging of Bangladeshi rivers with Indian assistance, railway connectivity, energy cooperation, trade issues including tariff and non-tariff barriers on Bangladeshi products, acceptance of Bangladesh standard certification of products and free trade area.
She said Bangladesh-India talks at the premier level would also include the agenda of bilateral transit under regional perspective and offering Nepal and Bhutan the facility to use Bangladesh's Mongla Port for third country trade using Indian territory.
Moni said the two premiers would also discuss the issue of setting up makeshift India-proposed "border huts" at certain specific points of the frontier.