'PM's B'desh trip to be turning point in regional cooperation'

Having resolved most of the irritants in ties, Bangladesh and India now need to give priority to sub-regional issues and Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit should be seen as a "turning point" in regional cooperation, Premier Sheikh Hasina's foreign policy adviser said today.
"In recent years, the two countries have resolved virtually all bilateral issues and have embarked on ambitious cooperative projects and maximised benefits through sub- regional cooperation," Hasina's International Affairs Adviser Professor Gowher Rizvi told PTI.
He said Bangladesh expects Modi's two-day visit, starting Saturday, to elevate bilateral relations to a higher level and also push for greater priority to sub-regional issues of common interest.

"So we are very much looking forward to welcoming him. This gives us an opportunity to build on the extraordinary close cooperative relationship that the two countries developed over the past six years," said Rizvi.
He said with the conclusion of the landmark Land Boundary Agreement (LBA) that was one of the last outstanding issues, "now the time has come to go forward and tackle bigger bilateral and sub-regional or trilateral issues, where much of our hopes lies."
Rizvi said having "greater grasp of regional relations and particularly of Indo-Bangla ties," Modi had showed the importance he attaches to regional issues from the day of his inauguration by inviting South Asian heads of government.

"Since then he has reached out to all the SAARC neighbours and his emphasis on the region is fully shared by his counterpart," Rizvi said.

"The visit should be seen as a turning point in regional cooperation as well," he said.
Asked for comments on the outstanding Teesta water sharing issue, Rizvi said "of course, there remains the issue of Teesta, which is causing some anxieties in the minds of the people...But again Bangladesh government remains very confident (about resolving the problem)."
He termed the Teesta issue "a shared problem", saying it was "not about India and Bangladesh, it is about people, whose livelihood depends on the river" and both sides have already "raised the issue to a higher humanitarian level."

"Of course there are not enough waters to meet everybody's demand, but certainly there is enough for everybody's need," Rizvi said.
He recalled that ahead of the last minute postponement of the deal in 2011, "we did find a very fine acceptable formula which was initiated at the official level."
External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj this week ruled out the possibility of signing the Teesta treaty during Modi's visit but Rizvi said the agreement would be signed "before too long".