Indian PM's visit fruitful
Says AL general secretary
Awami League General Secretary Syed Ashraful Islam yesterday said the party does not see any mark of failure in the outcome of the Indian prime minister's recent visit to Bangladesh.
“All the scheduled deals, except sharing of Teesta river's waters were signed during the visit of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, and with this visit the relationship between the two neighbouring states has been further strengthened,” he said.
Addressing a press conference at the political office of party President Sheikh Hasina at city's Dhanmondi, Ashraful termed the visit a landmark in the history of bilateral relationship between the two countries.
He pointed out that many longstanding problems like exchange of enclaves and border demarcation were resolved during the visit.
The AL leader highlighted the deal that would ensure duty-free access for 46 products from Bangladesh to India and expressed hope that this will help reduce the country's trade deficit with India.
He urged the opposition political parties to analyse the outcome from Manmohan's visit objectively and not merely from an anti-Indian sentiment.
“I expect the Teesta River water sharing deal will be signed soon. If any regional ministers oppose it, the central government will manage it,” he added.
Replying to a query, Ashraful said the deals, MoUs, and protocols which have been signed during Indian premier's visit were discussed at multiple levels in both countries.
“All documentation of the deals and agreements were discussed in the cabinet. We have discussed the issues with our political counterparts as well,” he said, adding that the discussions were held under strong secrecy.
Ashraful said the government also collected expert opinion on the issues before finalising the deals.
When asked weather the Teesta deal would be held as a condition for signing the transit deal, Ashraful said, “That is not correct, these two issues are separate and will be treated so.”
The supportive infrastructure for the transit process is yet to be developed in Bangladesh. It has to be developed before giving India any transit rights, he said.
Replying to a question about BNP's fresh anti-government movement, the AL general secretary said the government is not worried about the opposition's movement, rather it is interested in implementing the party's electoral pledges to people.
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