Bangladesh expects India’s support for Ganges Treaty renewal: Minister

Dhaka, Jul 9 (PTI) Bangladesh on Thursday said Dhaka expected India’s support for the renewal of the 1996 Ganges Treaty, which is due to expire in December, and added that talks with New Delhi were underway on the issue. "We believe the discussions (with India) are moving in a positive direction… bilateral negotiations on the treaty are continuing,” Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Shama Obaed Islam told reporters during a news briefing. “I hope India will understand its importance and come forward accordingly." Water sharing is a key issue in ties between the two neighbouring countries. It has assumed more significance because the India-Bangladesh Ganges Water Treaty, signed in 1996 for 30 years, to govern dry-season sharing of the river, is due to expire this year unless renewed. The treaty was signed during the first term of deposed prime minister Sheikh Hasina’s now disbanded Awami League regime. Deltaic lower riparian Bangladesh is crisscrossed by nearly 1,500 rivers, while it shares the streams of 54 major ones, such as the Ganges, with upper riparian India. Former Bangladesh High Commissioner to India Tariq A Karim recently told a seminar that the 1996 Ganges treaty showed that cooperation was possible “even on sensitive issues”. "But the agreement is due to expire in December, and its renewal will test if the region can adapt old agreements to new hydrological and climatic realities," he said. Shama Obaed said Bangladesh believed “India understands the importance of the treaty and the significance of the Ganges waters for both countries”. "I believe India will make the right decision, taking that into consideration and with the shared interest of ensuring that our bilateral relationship is not harmed in any way," she said. The minister of state said the team and committee formed by Prime Minister Tarique Rahman were actively working with India on the issue, despite the limited time remaining before the expiry of the treaty. Asked what made her optimistic about the renewal of the treaty, Shama Obaed said she could not elaborate on the ongoing negotiations at this stage, adding that Bangladesh remains “hopeful” even though the decision on renewal “ultimately rests with India”. Bangladesh and India discuss water-sharing and other river-related issues through the Joint Rivers Commission (JRC), the institutional mechanism established to advance bilateral cooperation on shared water resources. PTI AR GSP GSP