Teesta – a matter of life and death Foreign Minister
Bangladesh’s Foreign Minister Khalilur Rahman on Tuesday signalled a notable shift in Dhaka’s approach to the long-stalled Teesta water-sharing dispute, indicating that Bangladesh cannot wait indefinitely for India and will move ahead with China-backed development projects along the river.
“We cannot simply remain idle — we have our own work to carry out,” Khalilur told reporters at Dhaka airport before departing for a three-day visit to Beijing.
Khalilur underscored the urgency of the issue for communities dependent on the Teesta River.
“This is a matter of life and death for people living along the river,” he said, referring to the ecological and economic challenges faced by those communities.
“This is a commitment of our prime minister and of our government, and we will fulfil it,” he added. “Our foremost priority is the interest of our people — Bangladesh first.”
His remarks come as Bangladesh observes a changing political landscape in India’s West Bengal, where the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has secured a landslide victory, raising fresh uncertainty over bilateral agreements — including the Teesta deal, which has been stalled since 2011.
The Teesta water-sharing agreement between Bangladesh and India was nearly finalised in 2011, but collapsed at the last moment when then West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee withdrew her support.
Since then, the agreement has remained in limbo, with successive governments in Dhaka expressing frustration over the lack of progress.
Asked whether Bangladesh still held out hope for the deal, Khalilur did not rule it out, but made clear that patience had its limits.
“There remains hope that the agreement reached at the time could be reconsidered under the present circumstances,” he said. “But we cannot simply wait indefinitely.”
He added that, with no government yet formally in place in West Bengal following the recent election, Dhaka was not in a position to speculate on Kolkata’s intentions.
“A government has not yet been formed in West Bengal, and what they are thinking or what they will do is for them to communicate. It is not my role to anticipate their position,” he said.
Khalilur confirmed that Bangladesh’s Teesta development project — which has attracted considerable interest from China — would “certainly” feature in his discussions in Beijing.
He is scheduled to hold bilateral talks with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and to meet Wang Huning, Chairman of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference.
Placing the visit in a broader strategic context, Khalilur described China as “an extremely important friend” with whom Bangladesh maintains a strategic cooperative partnership.
“This is our new government’s first visit to China,” he said. “We will discuss in detail how to deepen and broaden our bilateral relationship further.”
He added that Dhaka would also explore the possibility of elevating ties beyond the current level of strategic partnership.
The Teesta project — encompassing flood management, irrigation and ecological restoration along the river basin — has been a sensitive issue between Dhaka and New Delhi, with India expressing reservations about Chinese involvement in what it regards as a strategically important region.
