India and Bangladesh Hold First Top-Level Talks After 2024: Minorities, Border and River Water Treaties on the Table
The Prime Minister of India and the Chief Adviser of Bangladesh's interim government held their first bilateral meeting on 4 April 2025. It took place in Bangkok, Thailand, on the sidelines (in a side meeting) of the sixth BIMSTEC Summit. The talks lasted about 40 minutes.
This was the highest-level contact between the two countries since Bangladesh's former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina left the country and came to India in August 2024, after mass protests.
India said it gives the "highest priority" to its relations with Bangladesh and supports a democratic, stable, peaceful and inclusive Bangladesh. It raised the safety of Hindus and other minorities, asked for steps to stop illegal border crossings, and asked both sides to avoid statements that spoil the atmosphere.
Bangladesh raised its request for the extradition (formal handing over of a person wanted by another country) of its former Prime Minister, asked for ways to reduce deaths at the border, and asked for the renewal of the Ganges Water Treaty and a final deal on the Teesta river.
At the end of the summit, Bangladesh took over the chairmanship of BIMSTEC from Thailand.
The Ganges Water Treaty, 1996
The Ganges Water Treaty is an agreement between India and Bangladesh on how to share the water of the river Ganga (called the Ganges in English and the Padma in Bangladesh) during the dry months. The sharing happens at the Farakka Barrage in West Bengal, just before the river enters Bangladesh. The treaty was signed in New Delhi on 12 December 1996 for 30 years. It covers the lean season, from 1 January to 31 May every year, when the river carries the least water.
Bangladesh asked India to renew the Ganges Water Treaty, which ends in December 2026. Renewal will need fresh talks on the formula, flows and guarantees, and the Joint Committee and Joint Rivers Commission will be key forums for it.
The Teesta River Water Dispute
The Teesta River Water Dispute is a long-running disagreement between India and Bangladesh over how to share the water of the Teesta river, especially in the dry season. The Teesta starts in Sikkim, flows through West Bengal and then enters Bangladesh, where it joins the Brahmaputra. Both countries depend on it for farming, but in the dry months there is too little water for both. A deal was almost signed in 2011 but has not been signed so far.
Bangladesh raised the long-pending Teesta agreement in the talks. The Teesta, along with the renewal of the Ganges treaty, remains one of the biggest unresolved issues between the two neighbours, and it now also carries a China angle.
BIMSTEC (Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation)
BIMSTEC is a regional group of seven countries around the Bay of Bengal: Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Thailand. Its aim is to cooperate on trade, connectivity, security, energy, climate and people-to-people links. It connects South Asia with Southeast Asia. Its permanent secretariat (main office) is in Dhaka, Bangladesh.
The India–Bangladesh meeting took place on the sidelines of the sixth BIMSTEC Summit in Bangkok. Such summits give leaders a neutral place to meet on bilateral issues, and Bangladesh, which took over as BIMSTEC chair there, will now host the group's next steps.
- India–Bangladesh top-level meeting: 4 April 2025, Bangkok, on the sidelines of the 6th BIMSTEC Summit; about 40 minutes
- India raised: safety of Hindus and other minorities, illegal border crossings, avoiding harmful rhetoric
- Bangladesh raised: extradition of its former Prime Minister, border deaths, Ganges treaty renewal, Teesta agreement
- Ganges Water Treaty: signed 12 December 1996, 30 years, expires December 2026; shared at Farakka, 1 January to 31 May
- Guaranteed flow: 35,000 cusecs each in alternate 10-day periods, 11 March to 10 May
- Teesta: 2011 draft share India 42.5%, Bangladesh 37.5%; 1983 ad hoc share India 39%, Bangladesh 36%
- India and Bangladesh share 54 rivers; Joint Rivers Commission set up in 1972
- India–Bangladesh land border: about 4,096.7 km, the longest land border India shares with any country
- BIMSTEC: 7 members, secretariat in Dhaka, Charter in force since 20 May 2024; Bangladesh is the current chair