Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Wednesday that his government is making strong efforts to quickly resolve the land boundary agreement (LBA) and Teesta water sharing issues.
Modi was at a meeting with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina at the Malshree Lobby Floor of the Crown Plaza Kathmandu- Soaltee.
After the meeting, Foreign Secretary Shahidul Haque said Sheikh Hasina wanted to know about the progress of the land boundary agreement and Teesta water sharing issue from her Indian counterpart.
In reply, Modi said he is making strong efforts to resolve the issues quickly and mentioned that there is a consensus being made on the matters in India.
About the Teesta water sharing, Modi said negotiations are going on over the issue. Both the leaders reiterated their firm commitment to contain the menace of terrorism, Shahidul Haque said.
Meanwhile, the Indian Prime Minister said cynicism and skepticism are hampering the potentials of the Saarc. In his address at the inaugural session of the 18th South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation or Saarc Summit, Prime Minister Modi, however, said a tide of cooperation was rising in the region. “We’ve boundless potentials in the Saarc region and there is so much to learn from each other,” he said mentioning that India and Nepal are coming in a new era of cooperation.
The Indian Prime Minister also stressed the need for taking the Saarc to develop trans-Atlantic and trans-pacific trade. “Big or small, we face the same challenges,” he said.
Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, Bhutanese Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay, Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, Maldivian President Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom, Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa and Saarc Secretary General Arjun Bahadur Thapa also delivered their speeches at the inaugural function. Host Nepalese Prime Minister Sushil Koirala made the inaugural speech.
Modi said India has huge trade surplus in Saarc nations and added that it was ‘neither right nor sustainable’. He said that India is ready to give a level-playing field to all the member states of the Saarc.
Stating that infrastructure is his greatest priority in India, the Indian Prime Minister said so is the case in other Saarc nations.
He also said the time is ripe to narrow down the distance between producers of goods and their consumers.
The Indian Prime Minister said the time has come to better connect the lives of the people of Saarc member countries.
In this connection, he said tourism could be an option to connect them better. “The concept of Buddhist circuit in the region needs immediate implementation in order to augment tourism in the region.”
Recalling the horrible terror attacks in Mumbia, India in 2008, he stressed the need for mutual cooperation, investment and assistance to cope with every adversity including terrorism.
“Lets move from cynicism to optimism and to realize peace and prosperity in the region.” – UNB
