Teesta water sharing fallout not to impact bilateral issues: Bangladesh

Bangladesh on Friday assured that the fallout of Teesta water sharing treaty will have no impact on bilateral relations with India.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s visit to Bangladesh last year, the treaty was not signed following resistance from West Bengal chief minister and Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee. The plan by the Centre was for a 52:48 formula in sharing water with Bangladesh, which would have made a considerable drop to Bangladesh’s share.

“It had no impact on the bilateral ties and we expect the treaty to be cleared. The present Indian government is trying to improve the relationships and is very cordial with Bangladesh,” said Ghulam Muhammed Quader, commerce minister, Bangladesh, on the sidelines of the Bengal Chamber’s 158th annual general meeting.

 

The minister added that Bangladesh is considering to set up special economic zones for Indian industrialists with tax sops. Apart from this, a lot of deals were signed between the two countries during the visit of Singh.

Meanwhile, when asked about the ban on export of Hilsa fish to West Bengal, Quader said, “Hilsa is loved not just in India but also in Bangladesh. For the time being its availability is less.” He however indicated that it has to be seen when the ban can be lifted.

Earlier this year, Bangladesh had imposed a ban on export of sweet water fishes and Hilsa, though the ban on other fishes were lifted recently, Hilsa ban continued.