Ganges water-sharing treaty to be discussed by 2 countries’ joint river commission: Jaiswal

The issue of the Ganges Water Treaty between Bangladesh and India will be discussed by the Joint River Commission of the two countries.

Discussions on this treaty are ongoing at the technical levels of both countries.

In response to a question during a briefing by the Indian Ministry of External Affairs on Tuesday, Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said this.

Recently, Bangladesh's Minister of Water Resources, Md Shahiduddin Chowdhury Anee told journalists at an event in Dhaka that Bangladesh wants a new agreement with India on Ganges water distribution.

According to that agreement, water will be distributed equally between the two countries based on entitlement.

He said that the country's interests should be protected by including this 'guarantee clause' in the new agreement.

When asked about India's stance on this matter during the briefing, Randhir Jaiswal said that there is a Joint River Commission for discussions on all rivers flowing between the two countries, not just the Ganges. All river-related matters will be discussed in that commission.

He further mentioned that technical meetings about the Ganges treaty are being conducted.

The Ganges water-sharing treaty between India and Bangladesh was signed on 12 December 1996.

This 30-year-long treaty will end on 12 December. Bangladesh has formed a technical committee to discuss this treaty and has informed India multiple times since last June.

However, according to diplomatic sources in Dhaka, no response has been received from Delhi.

In the briefing, it was also inquired whether India’s National Security Advisor Ajit Doval had recently visited Dhaka. In response, Jaiswal said he had no information on that matter.