India and Bangladesh looked past the unexpected acrimony triggered by a failure to agree on a water sharing deal that ran aground over strong objections by West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, to resolve a long-standing border problem that has rankled for over 37 years.

Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh and his counterpart Sheikh Hasina Wajed signed a historic agreement on the long pending demarcation of a mutual land boundary which will see the exchange of 162 adversely-held enclaves, as well as ten agreements in other fields that observers felt kept the relationship ticking on a positive note with India 'giving more to its neighbour'.

An agreement on the sharing of the Teesta and Feni river waters was expected to be the high point of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s maiden visit here, with the tangle over the Teesta causing the Bangladesh foreign ministry to say 'no Teesta, no transit'.

Dr Singh, aware of Bangladesh’s sensitivities on Teesta, said “our common rivers need not be sources of discord, but can become the harbingers of prosperity to both our countries”, also saying the two countries had decided to continue discussions to reach “a mutually acceptable, fair and amicable arrangement for the sharing of the Teesta and Feni river waters.”

Singh also announced a major trade sop allowing duty-free access with immediate effect to 61 items from Bangladesh to Indian markets and permitting 24-hour access to Bangladeshis through Tin Bigha corridor. Of the 61 items, 46 are textile products for which Bangladesh had long sought access into the Indian market.

In the power sector, India reached out by deciding to connect the country’s national grids, assist in setting up a 1320 megawatt joint venture power plant in Khulna and facilitating 'over land transit traffic between Bangladesh and Nepal'.

Singh, Hasina rise above Teesta

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Tuesday said that Bangladesh was in the midst of a major socio-economic transformation.

“Your economy has witnessed steady growth during the last several years and you have achieved commendable successes in eradicating poverty, hunger, illiteracy and disease,” Dr Singh said at the banquet hosted by Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

Dr Singh felt that the “talks and the agreements that have been signed represent a qualitative leap forward in our relations. We have shown an openness of mind and heart to build bridges of collaboration across sectors.”

He said that “it is befitting that in this atmosphere of hope and confidence, we are jointly celebrating the 150th birth anniversary of Rabindranath Tagore”. The PM reminded his audience that the establishment of a Tagore Chair at Dhaka University, an India-Bangladesh Parliamentary Friendship Group in the Indian Parlia-ment and the Indira Gandhi Cultural Centre in Dhaka “will add to the intensity of people to people interaction”.

He also spoke of India’s “complete commitment to the progress and prosperity of Bangladesh”. Dr Singh assured Bangladesh that India desires to “see a stable, secure and self-reliant Dhaka. India will remain at your disposal in every sphere of your nation building efforts”.

Ms Hasina said that Banglah-India relationship is at a “historical juncture”, adding that the two countries “share a common heritage in respect of culture, values, language, history and geography.”

She said that the foundation stone of India and Bangladesh was laid by “father of the nation, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibar Rahman and Indira Gandhi”.

List of agreements

*Framework Agreement on Cooperation for Development

*MoU for Cooperation in Renewable Energy

*Protocol on Conservation of the Royal Bengal Tiger of the Sunderbans, MoU on cooperation in fisheries

*MoU on cooperation between Doordarshan and Bangladesh Television