India, Bangla to hold two-day FS level talks from Monday

Anisur Rahman
Dhaka, Jun 5 (PTI) Indian Foreign Secretary Nirupama
Rao will hold crucial talks with Bangladeshi officials during
a two day visit starting Monday to discuss among other things
matters to be taken up during Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's
planned visit to this country.
Rao, who is set to arrive here on Monday, is expected
to call on Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, Foreign Minister Dipu
Moni and other Bangladesh leaders during her stay here.
The visit comes ahead of Singh's planned Dhaka visit
that is expected in a few months and bilateral issues like
water sharing are expected to be discussed during the Foreign
Secretary level talks.
"All aspects of bilateral relations as well as
sub-regional issues will be discussed during the (foreign
secretary level) consultations," as Rao was coming at the
invitation of her Bangladesh counterpart Mohamed Mijarul
Quayes, a foreign ministry statement said.
The visit, it said, would provide the two sides with
an opportunity to take stock of the progress in implementing
decisions taken during Hasina's India visit in January 2010.
The statement said the visit was also expected to
chart the way forward and to discuss issues to further expand
the areas of bilateral, regional and sub-regional cooperation
for the mutual benefits of the two friendly countries.
Officials familiar with the process at foreign offices
in Dhaka and New Delhi said Rao's visit was expected to find
ways to ensure some tangible outcome during the Indian Prime
Minister's upcoming visit, on areas including water sharing on
common rivers and cross-border frontiers issues.

"The issues relating to Dr Singh's official visit to
Bangladesh will dominate the talks between the two foreign
secretaries," a senior official at the foreign ministry in
Dhaka said.
He said the two foreign secretaries would particularly
review the implementation process of the MoUs signed between
the two countries during Hasina's landmark New Delhi visit.
A three-member Bangladesh delegation flew to New Delhi
today to finalise the draft on the proposed water sharing deal
on the Teesta and Feni rivers as the two countries are
expected to sign the crucial agreement during or ahead of
Singh's Dhaka tour.
Water resource secretary Sheikh Wahiduzzaman led the
delegation to New Delhi to invite India's water resource
minister Salman Khurshid for the minister-level joint river
commission talks with his Bangladeshi counterpart Ramesh
Chandra Sen in Dhaka.
Officials said the two countries were also expected to
witness a tangible outcome in resolving the cross-border
enclave issues during the Indian Prime Minister's visit along
with resolution of several outstanding bilateral matters.