Modi hints at Teesta deal, but no timeframe
Friday, 25 September 2015
NEW YORK, Sept 25: Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has expressed the hope that the Teesta River water-sharing agreement would be signed with Bangladesh.
Modi came up with the view at a delegation-level unscheduled meeting with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina at Hotel Waldrof Astoria in New York on Thursday.
Both the leaders, now in New York to attend the seventieth session of the UN General Assembly, are staying at the hotel.
PM's Press Secretary Ihsanul Karim briefed reporters after the meeting.
However, the Press Secretary said Narendra Modi did not mention any timeframe for signing of the long-pending deal.
Sheikh Hasina and Modi also observed that frequent interactions among Saarc leaders beyond the common practice of summit-level talks were necessary for strengthening cooperation among the countries.
The PM's Press Secretary said both the leaders discussed various issues of regional aspects and mutual interests, including present status of the execution of the Land Boundary Agreement (LBA) and the Teesta water sharing agreement at the meeting that lasted for about half an hour.
The Indian Prime Minister was inquisitive about two major projects of Bangladesh -- one is Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant and the other is Bangabandhu Satellite project. He appreciated the capacity of the Bangladesh team working on the Rooppur Power Plant project with Russia and offered more training for them on technical and commercial aspects.
He also mentioned about his country's expertise in satellite launching and offered giving necessary support to Bangladesh in this particular area.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said there might have been problems among neighbours. However, all the disputes could be resolved through negotiation. She said the road connectivity among the four nations in the region would bring immense benefits to people of the region.
As Narendra Modi hailed Sheikh Hasina's leadership in Bangladesh's success in socio-economic development, Hasina underlined Bangladesh's successful accomplishments in achieving Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in a number of areas.—UNB
Ends/AR/Sept 25, 2015