Teesta issue mainly depends on India

• Hosting Rohingya refugees becoming a burden

• Bangladesh economy still very strong

• India a tested friend of Bangladesh

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has said resolving the Teesta water sharing issue mainly depends on India. 

“It’s (Teesta) a long-standing problem. So, it should be solved. But it depends mainly on India,” she told multimedia news agency - Asian News International (ANI) ahead of her four-day state visit to India. The full version of the interview will be telecast on Sunday morning with text stories.

A 37-second teaser of the interview was put on ANI’s Twitter account on Saturday.

Recalling earlier discussions, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina during her meeting with Indian counterpart Narendra Modi in March last year reiterated Bangladesh's long-pending request for concluding the interim agreement on the sharing of the waters of the Teesta river.

She underscored that to alleviate the sufferings and save the livelihoods of millions of people dependent on the Teesta river basin, it is necessary that Bangladesh receives its fair share of the Teesta waters, the draft agreement of which has already been agreed upon by both Governments in January 2011, according to the 2021 joint statement.

Hosting Rohingya refugees becoming a burden

Hosting over 1.1 million Rohingyas is becoming a big burden, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina told ANI ahead of her four-day state visit to India.

“India is a vast country, you can accommodate,” she added. 

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina later recalled her meeting with Indian counterpart Narendra Modi in March last year and reiterated Bangladesh’s long-pending request for concluding the interim agreement on sharing the waters of the Teesta River. 

She underscored that to alleviate the sufferings and save the livelihoods of millions of people dependent on the Teesta River basin, it is necessary that Bangladesh receives its fair share of the Teesta waters - the draft agreement of which has already been agreed upon by both governments in January 2011, according to the 2021 joint statement.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi reiterated India’s “sincere commitment and continued efforts” to conclude this agreement, in consultation with the relevant stakeholders.

Responding to a question on Hindu temples’ vandalism, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina told ANI these incidents sometimes take place. “But we immediately take action against them.”

At the invitation of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, his Bangladesh counterpart Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will pay a visit to New Delhi from September 5-8. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will visit India after three years since she last visited in 2019 before the Covid-19 pandemic broke out.

Bangladesh economy still very strong

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has reiterated that despite the Covid-19 onslaught and the conflict in Ukraine, Bangladesh’s economy continues to be in robust shape and that her government exercises a high level of diligence when taking any loans.

In the interaction with ANI, Prime Minister Hasina dismissed concerns that Bangladesh could go the Sri Lanka way. She said currently the world as a whole was facing challenges which were not restricted only to Bangladesh.

“Our economy, still it is very strong. Though, we faced this Covid-19 pandemic, now the Ukraine-Russia war. That has its effect here. But in debt rate, Bangladesh always pays timely all the debts. So our debt rate is very low. In context of Sri Lanka, our economy trajectory and the development, it is [planned] very, very calculatedly,” said the prime minister.

Sheikh Hasina, however, acknowledged that the conflict in Ukraine had posed some problems for her country. “It has bad effect no doubt about it, especially the things we import from other countries,” she said.

She asserted that because of this measured approach, her country was secure on the economic front. Bangladesh did not take any loan unless it was sure that it would benefit from the project undertaken, she said.

“I think the whole world is facing economic problems. We are also. But yes, there are some people they raise this issue. ‘Oh, Bangladesh will be Sri Lanka’, this and that. But I can assure, no, that will not happen. Because we... all our development plans, what we prepare and we implement, always we see that what would be the return? How people would be the beneficiary? Otherwise I do not take any project (for) just spending money,” she said.

Sheikh Hasina said in Bangladesh, whenever the government considers any loan, it is a clear policy to estimate what would be the return for the country on the completion of the project.

“How our economy will develop? And the people will be beneficiary, that is priority. So that way we are taking all the plans, programs. Unnecessary we do not spend any money,” Sheikh Hasina added.

She said her government takes up plans for consideration in a very methodical manner.

“And we take the plan, so as because it is a very calculative way we are developing, I feel that we will not face a similar situation... Not only that, in the policy matter, the moment pandemic started, Covid-19, I called upon our people, and also we provided all kinds of support and inputs, up to the village level and also encouraged our people to grow more food items, as much as food they can grow. I always supported them that what you should do. You should grow your food so that we should not depend on others,” she said.

India a tested friend of Bangladesh

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has said there can be differences but these should be addressed through dialogue, noting that in a number of areas, Bangladesh and Indian had precisely done that.

Sheikh Hasina, during the interview ANI, referred to India as a “tested” friend and said that country had stood by Bangladesh in its hour of need, first in 1971 and then at later times also.

“We always remember their contribution during our 1971 war. And beside that even 1975, when we lost all my family members. So the then prime minister, she gave us shelter in India. Besides that, you see, these two countries, we are neighbours, close neighbours and I always give importance and priority to friendship with our neighbouring countries,” she said.

She lauded Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led initiative towards rescuing students of her country who were stuck in eastern Europe following the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

In a free-wheeling television interaction with ANI, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who is set to visit India on Monday, also lavished praise on the Modi government’s gesture of providing Covid-19 vaccines to neighbouring countries under its Vaccine Maitri program when the pandemic was fast-spreading.

The Bangladesh prime minister emphasized closer cooperation between the two neighbours.

She, however, marked out two areas for special praise where the Indian government’s support helped Bangladeshi citizens.

One of these was the evacuation of Bangladesh students, who like many Indians, were stuck in Ukraine and its neighbouring countries after the outbreak of the conflict.

“I really would like to express my thanks to prime minister (Modi) that during this war between Russia and Ukraine, many of our students were just stuck and they came to Poland to shelter. But when you evacuate your students, Indian students, they also brought our students back home. So it is really... You have shown a clearly friendly gesture. I thank prime minister for this initiative,” Sheikh Hasina said.

She was responding to a question about remarks often made especially by western observers that there was a lack of cooperation among Saarc nations. To another question about the Indian government’s Vaccine Maitri program, Sheikh Hasina said it was a very “prudent” initiative taken by Prime Minister Modi.

“I really thank Prime Minister Modi for this initiative, and that way he... you know, contributed vaccines to not only Bangladesh, also some south Asian countries, and it is really very very helpful. And it is a really prudent initiative he has taken, and beside that we bought vaccines with our own money, and also many other countries also contributed,” she said.

Sheikh Hasina also gave details about her country’s vaccination program. Bangladesh has administered Covid-19 vaccines to 90% of its population.

“Usually, you know, people from our country, especially the village level, even in some towns also, I found many people very much reluctant to take vaccine. They do not want to take the... you know... the pinch of needle or ‘sui nai lena hai’ so... but we have to pursue them. We told them that this is nothing but it will save your life. So that way we engaged everybody, so that they make people... so it was really very good initiative, this Vaccine Maitri itself... very good initiative. I really support,” she said.

The relationship between the two countries should be for the betterment of their citizens, she said.

Sheikh Hasina said even during the Covid 19 period, Indian leadership had shown their positive intentions as both, then-president Ram Nath Kovind and Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Bangladesh as it celebrated its Independence Day.

“I really thank Prime Minister Modi and also your honourable president. Both of them visited Bangladesh when we were celebrating our Father of The Nation’s birth centenary and also our independence, 50 years of our Independence Day, and our friendship with India. India recognized Bangladesh early on, so that bonding, I think that is our main priority. That their visit at such a time, even that time there was a Covid-19 pandemic but beside that both of them honoured us, honoured our people,” she said.