Wali-ur Rahman, Former Ambassador

Wali-ur Rahman, Former Ambassador : Prime minister has travelled to India to inaugurate Bangladesh Bhaban and receive D Lit degree. These were the reason for her making the short trip to India. Despite visit being short and the two special reasons, the people of Bangladesh had enough expectation. They wanted the unsettled issues to be discussed during the trip. They wanted the prime minister to bring good news about the Teesta water-sharing deal.
Our premier had talks with her Indian counterpart and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banarjee, where they discussed a number of issues. Not everything needs to be spoken. Silence means a lot.
I think there has been significant progress regarding Teesta water-sharing deal despite our or Indian prime minister or even West Bengal CM keeping mum. In many cases, political issues create chaos over any certain issue, hindering a progress of an initiative. I feel that the silence between the three leaders embodies good news. They are probably working on the issue in an organised way, a move that cannot be told publicly fearing that any new issue may pop up regarding the deal.
We may make various comments and think, from outside. We can also make criticism and give credit, but we need to be practical. We have to realise the reality. India is the largest democratic country in the world. We have historic ties with the country. The bilateral ties between the two countries are at the peak now. Owing to such ward relation, we managed to address many issues including the one of swapping our enclaves with those in India.
Though it is time-consuming, everything including Teesta water-sharing deal will be settled. We have to keep patience and assist the government. Nothing can be resolved without talks and diplomatic proceedings. We know that Indian values our cooperation. We did a lot for them the way they did for us. We did cooperate them. We helped each other. This cooperation will continue in future, I believe. And, our much-awaited Teesta water-sharing deal will also be resolved. We hope that we will receive good news about the deal ahead of the next general election. Our wait will be sweet, which we are in now.
Based on an interview by Ashiq Rahman and translated by Syaeed Rahman.