Dhaka welcomes Indian parliamentary committee’s call over Teesta issue

Bangladesh has described "encouraging and significant" the recent recommendation made by India's Parliamentary Standing Committee regarding Teesta water sharing agreement.

"It is surely encouraging and meaningful; especially MPs from all political parties of India are in this committee. That is why such a recommendation generated hope among us," Seheli Sabrin, spokesperson at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, told reporters at the weekly media briefing today.

She said they noticed through the Bangladesh Mission in New Delhi that the committee recommended reaching consensus on Teesta water sharing through meaningful dialogue to strengthen the relations between the two countries.

Parliamentary Standing Committee on External Affairs in India unanimously has recently recommended to the government to resolve the pending Teesta water sharing issue at the earliest "to improve the bilateral relation further" with Bangladesh.

Recalling earlier discussions, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina reiterated Bangladesh's long pending request for concluding the interim agreement on the sharing of the waters of the Teesta River, the draft of which was finalised in 2011.

The standing committee composed of all parties' lawmakers submitted the report on 'India's Neighborhood First Policy' in both the houses of the Parliament -Rajyasabha, upper house and Loksabha, lower house, on July 25.

PP Chaudhary, chairperson of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on External Affairs is from BJP.

Important members of the parliament like former Home Minister of Congress P Chidambaram, Abhishek Banerjee of TMC, BJP MP Swapan Dasgutpa and other 27 members of Parliament of Rajyasabha and Loksabha are the members of the committee, media reported.