Bangladesh Announces It Will No Longer Wait for India, Plans to Consult China on Teesta River Water Dispute
According to a report by Indian media outlet ThePrint on May 6, Bangladeshi Foreign Minister Khalilur Rahman clearly stated that Bangladesh will not indefinitely wait for an agreement with India on sharing the Teesta River's water resources. During his upcoming visit to China, he will discuss relevant issues with Chinese officials and advance the implementation of the Teesta River restoration project.
This statement comes amid the collapse of the West Bengal government led by Mamata Banerjee, who previously blocked the signing of the Indo-Bangladesh Teesta water-sharing agreement directly in 2011. The dispute over the Teesta River’s water has persisted for over four decades, with the provisional allocation agreement reached in 1983 never upgraded into a permanent treaty. Despite renewed technical talks between India and Bangladesh in 2024, no substantial progress has been achieved.
China has been involved in technical research on the river since 2016, signed a comprehensive rehabilitation project agreement with Bangladesh in 2019, and provided a project loan of $987 million in 2020. Rahman stated that China is an "extremely important friend" to Bangladesh. This visit marks the first official trip to China by the new Bangladeshi government, with the country prioritizing its people’s interests and accelerating the construction of related Teesta River projects.
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Original article: toutiao.com/article/1864439233675465/
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