"Her Excellency Sheikh Hasina, Prime Minister of the People's Republic of Bangladesh paid an official visit to India from December 10 to 12, 1996 at the invitation of the Prime Minister of India. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina had meetings with our President, Vice-President, Speaker of the Lok Sabha, Deputy Chairman of the Rajya Sabha, Leader of the Opposition in Parliament. She held detailed talks with the Prime Minister and myself She also met leaders of political parties. These talks were held in a most warm and friendly atmosphere. The Bangladesh Prime Minister also paid a visit to Ajmer and Jaipur during her stay in India.

This was the first visit of the Bangladesh Prime Minister to India since she assumed office in June this year. The visit, however, comes as the culmination of series of exchanges initiated shortly after our government took office. Earlier, I had the privilege of visiting Dhaka in September, and of receiving my Bangladesh counterpart in November. This period of intense interaction has placed our relations on an entirely new footing. Progress is being made on all issues in our bilateral relations. The prominent issue in our bilateral ties, over the last two decades, has been the issue of sharing of Ganga waters at Farakka. I am honored to state that Prime Ministers of India and Bangladesh have today signed a new Treaty on the sharing of the Ganga waters. We are confident this Treaty would be a landmark in our bilateral relations. The Treaty protects the interests of India and at the same time helps Bangladesh by providing an adequate share of the Ganga waters to that country.

I shall be laying a copy of the text of the Treaty with its Annexures on the table of the House. According to the Treaty, sharing of Ganga waters at Farakka between India and Bangladesh will be on the basis of a formula, key merit of which is that it shares available waters on a basis which is fair and equitable. The formula also takes into account the basic requirements and minimum needs of both sides. Therefore, during the critical period within the lean season, i.e. from March I to May 10, India and Bangladesh each shall receive a guaranteed flow of 35,000 cusecs of water in an alternating sequence of three 10-day periods each. This is aimed at meeting the fundamental requirements of both our countries through a just and reasonable sharing of the burden of shortage. The Treaty also has the merit of being a long-term arrangement combined with scope for reviews at shorter intervals to study the impact of the sharing formula and to make needed adjustments. While the Treaty will be for 30 years and renewable on mutual consent, there is a provision of mandatory reviews at the end of 5 years and even earlier after 2 years with provisions for adjustments as required. Pending a fresh understanding after the review stage, Bangladesh would continue to receive 90% of its share in accordance with the new formula. We would thus avoid a situation where there is no agreement on the sharing of the Ganga waters between India and Bangladesh.

The signing of the Treaty between India and Bangladesh is a fitting tribute to the special quality of our relations. Indo-Bangladesh co-operation is based on a history of shared sacrifices, sanctified with the blood of martyrs who laid down their lives in 1971. It is entirely appropriate that this Treaty comes on the eve of the 25h anniversary of the liberation of Bangladesh, which was a momentous landmark in the history of our continent. With the signing of this treaty, we expect a new era in Indo-Bangladesh relations to be ushered in. This new relationship should be of immense benefit to both India and Bangladesh in the long term in all areas of bilateral relations including security, trade and other areas. With the removal of what has been a constant irritant in bilateral ties, we can look forward to an entirely new phase of co-operation. As the House would recall, we have already taken initiatives in the commercial sphere by extending tariff concessions to Bangladesh on a range of products of export interest to them. We propose to extend commercial credits of Rs. 1 billion to enhance trade relations further. We are working together with Bangladesh to ensure appropriate development and security in our entire eastern region.

It would be appropriate for me also, at this stage, to place on record our appreciation of the very constructive role played by the Chief Minister of West Bengal and his cabinet colleagues in bringing about improved atmosphere in which the treaty between India and Bangladesh has become possible. My thanks are also due to my colleagues in the Ministries of Water Resources and Surface Transport for their invaluable support in this endeavor. We also acknowledge on this occasion that in the past also it had been the endeavor of successive governments to strengthen our relations with Bangladesh.

Both India and Bangladesh co-operate very extensively in the regional fora such as SAARC and it shall be our endeavor to take this co-operation forward so that a new and a more constructive framework of relationships can be built up in our sub-continent to the mutual benefit of the people of all countries.

The visit of the Bangladesh Prime Minister is an event of historic significance. She herself has reaffirmed the spirit of 1971 in her speech at the banquet in her honor last night. We also recall those times when we worked shoulder to shoulder and we are resolved that in the future the same spirit of brotherhood will guide us to a new era. I am sure the House would share these sentiments and would support our resolve to advance in this direction."