Hasina's India visit likely to be delayed

Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's India tour, which was scheduled to take place in February, is likely to be delayed.

According to the Daily Star, the delay is to happen due to the upcoming polls in five states in India, including the most populous Uttar Pradesh, beginning from February 11.

According to sources, it would be very difficult for India to arrange a schedule for Hasina in February and March as the country's key political leaders would be in the midst of the election campaign and watching the assembly polls in Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Uttarakhand, Manipur, and Goa.

Hasina wants a very positive outcome from her India visit which includes signing of the Teesta deal water sharing deal, which remains a major challenge for the Hasina government as no visible progress has been made on ratification of the treaty since the signing was stalled in September 2011.

Though the diplomatic sources in Dhaka and New Delhi said signing of water sharing treaty was not a precondition for the Prime Minister's visit, it remains the most important issue in Bangladesh-India relations.

About the prospect of Hasina's visit taking place in March, the Indian Government would be busy with the national budget, making the very small.

Hasina was scheduled to visit New Delhi last month, but the tour was postponed due to scheduling problems.

A Bangladesh Foreign Ministry official said that during the Prime Minister's proposed visit, the two countries are likely to ink over two dozens of agreements, including those for using Chittagong and Mongla ports by India.

India is also likely to make a fresh commitment to provide loans of over USD 12 billion.