"No Country Should Be Worried": Bangladesh PM's Adviser On Teesta Project

"I see no reason for any country to be anxious about our developmental steps. India or any other nation will engage with Bangladesh as a sovereign state," said Bangladesh Prime Minister's adviser on India's concerns on the Teesta project.

As India has flagged its concerns over the Teesta River Comprehensive Management and Restoration Project (TRCMRP), Bangladesh has responded on the issue. Bangladesh Prime Minister Tarique Rahman's Information and Broadcasting Adviser Zahed Ur Rahman has said no other country should be worried about this.

Speaking to reporters in Dhaka, Zahed Ur Rahman said Bangladesh, as a sovereign nation, will implement the project in line with its own interests. "There is no reason for any other country to be worried about this," he added.

Zahed Ur Rahman told reporters that China has the technical expertise and financial capacity for such a project even as India says its concerns have been conveyed to the Bangladeshi side.

"I see no reason for any country to be anxious about our developmental steps. India or any other nation will engage with Bangladesh as a sovereign state. If any country has security concerns, Bangladesh will consider them. Likewise, if Bangladesh has concerns, others must also take those into account."

India said its development assistance for projects in Bangladesh is based on a "mutually agreed roadmap", and New Delhi will factor "all related developments" in its overall approach to the Teesta river-related project.

Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal responded to a query on the Teesta issue in the context of Dhaka and Beijing discussing the Teesta River Comprehensive Management and Restoration Project (TRCMRP) during Rahman's recent visit to China.

India has been open about its concerns on the project, Jaiswal said, adding that India has made its position clear on the Teesta project.

"On the question of Teesta, India's development assistance for projects in Bangladesh is based on a mutually agreed roadmap, which is regularly reviewed. Our views on the Teesta River project have been conveyed to the Bangladesh side. We will factor all related developments in our overall approach to the Teesta issue," Jaiswal said.

India has concerns over China's involvement in the project. Given the area's location and proximity to the strategically sensitive Siliguri Corridor (Chicken's Neck), any expansion of external influence in the area, especially China's presence, could intensify India's security concerns and create potential strategic vulnerabilities for a corridor that connects India's Northeast region to the rest of the country.

China has also reiterated its support for the Teesta River Comprehensive Management and Restoration Project (TRCMRP) despite India's concerns.

Last month, Zahed Ur Rahman was in the news after being held back at immigration at the Indira Gandhi International Airport as he arrived to attend a meeting hosted by the external affairs ministry.

Zahed Ur Rahman was stopped for questioning by the authorities after his name was reportedly flagged during a routine security check. While the Bangladeshi official was travelling to India on a government invitation, he reportedly had a regular Bangladeshi passport with a SAARC visa and was not carrying a diplomatic passport, according to Bangladeshi media reports.