Diplomatic Correspondent: Foreign Adviser Md Touhid Hossain on Tuesday said a widely circulated list shared by LGRD Adviser Asif Mahmud Shojib Bhuiyan claiming the cancellation of multiple agreements with India is not correct.
He made the remark at a press briefing held at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) premises in Dhaka.
The foreign adviser said most of the agreements named in the list do not exist and only one agreement- a tugboat deal with Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers Ltd. (GRSE) — has been cancelled and that was done long back.
“I have seen an adviser has made a comment with sharing the list, maybe it was not necessary to do. But I don’t want to make any comment on this,” he said.
During the briefing the adviser displayed data comparing the circulated list with the official record of agreements allegedly “cancelled”.
He said there is no project called the “Tripura–Chattogram rail link project” or an “Abhaypur–Akhaura railway line expansion”. There is also no project titled “Ashuganj–Agartala Corridor”; what exists is the Ashuganj–Sarail–Dharfar Project, which is underway, although one of its packages was cancelled.
There is no project named “Feni River Water Management Project”; what exists is a memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed during the previous regime allowing India to withdraw 1.82 cubic feet per second (cusec) of water from the Feni River to supply drinking water to Sabroom town in Tripura.
There is no “Kushiyara River Water Distribution Project”; rather there is a 2022 MoU on withdrawal of water by Bangladesh and India from the common-border river Kushiyara, which remains active and has not been halted, the adviser explained.
There is no agreement titled “Road and waterway development agreement regarding the use of the port”; the correct instrument is the “Agreement on the use of Chattogram and Mongla ports for movement of goods to and from India” and that agreement has not been cancelled.
There is no project called “Bangladesh offers financial assistance for Farakka-related projects”, nor a signed agreement named “Sylhet–Silchar Link Project” or a formal “Petroleum Pipeline Expansion Agreement”.
There is an existing pipeline from India’s Siliguri to Parbatipur, he added.
Touhid said the proposal for Indian economic zones (Mirsarai and Mongla IEZ) under India’s line of credit is under process of cancellation.
On Adani Power, he said the reference in the circulated list is “somewhat correct.”
On the Ganga water-sharing treaty, the adviser said, “This treaty is going to end next year, and we are in talks for further renewal.”
On the Teesta water-sharing agreement, which remained at draft stage, he said, “We are working on it, but not much development has taken place.”
When asked whether sharing the list suggested a lack of coordination within the government, the adviser repeated that he did not want to comment.
Replying to a question on whether the GRSE cancellation was discussed with India, he said, “This agreement has been cancelled after discussing with India.”
Asked if any other agreements were on the verge of cancellation, he said, “When we take any step we will inform.”
Regarding cancelation of agreements Indian High Commission’s media officer told, “We have not received any such communication from the interim government of Bangladesh”.
Imtiaz Ahmed, a professor at Dhaka University and former diplomat, told media that if there is a clause in the agreement, either party has the right to cancel it.
He said, “But we must remember whether proper consultation took place before the cancellation.”
“An agreement may be canceled based on priorities. However, canceling an agreement does not necessarily mean that diplomatic relations with that country will deteriorate,” he added.
