Amid an outgoing monsoon, Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina met her Indian counterpart Narendra Modi on September 5 at the Hyderabad House, Delhi. For the other state leaders, it could be a state visit. But for Bangladesh and India, a bilateral meeting reflects the optimal level of friendship and cooperation, which have profound implications for bilateral relations and entire South Asia.
The delayed and awaited visit has much to offer. Out of them, one has been identified for developing a framework of water-sharing agreements. In their first agreement over a single river in 25 years, India and Bangladesh achieved some headway in the divisive river water sharing problem during the meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and her visiting counterpart, Sheikh Hasina, which has added another feather in the cap of their friendship.
On August 21 this year, the Bangladesh-India Joint Rivers Commission (JRC) meeting agreed that the two countries would share the water of the Kushiyara. Following the decision at that meeting, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on withdrawal of 153 Cusec (cubic feet per second) of water from the Kushiayra by Bangladesh was signed in New Delhi as Premier Sheikh Hasina was visiting the neighbouring country…
– Saume Saptaparna Nath is a Research Associate at the KRF Center for Bangladesh and Global Affairs (CBGA).
