India’s foreign secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla on Tuesday landed in Dhaka on a two-day official visit.
The external affairs ministry in a statement said that Shringla during his visit will discuss and take forward cooperation on matters of mutual interest.
During his stay in Dhaka, Shringla will also meet Bangladesh foreign minister AK Abdul Momen.
The visit and his meeting with top government officials in Bangladesh assumes significance given Dhaka’s growing proximity with China, even as the bilateral relations between India and Bangladesh have come under some strain since last year.
Shringla’s sudden visit to Bangladesh comes in the backdrop of an announcement that Dhaka is expecting to receive $1 billion from China for the Teesta river project.
The Teesta river water sharing arrangement has always been a critical issue between India and Bangladesh.
Bangladesh has been demanding a share of Teesta water but strong opposition from the West Bengal government has created problems for New Delhi in settling down the issue.
During his visit to Dhaka in 2015, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had promised his Bangladeshi counterpart that the issue will be resolved soon. But, nothing positive had happened since then.
Significantly, after India passed the contentious Citizenship Amendment Bill in the parliament last year also created some repercussion between the two neighbouring countries.
