Published: 12:04 AM, 19 August 2026
Seminar Held on Water Sharing Issues Between Dhaka and Delhi
Water Resources Minister Md. Shahiduddin Chowdhury Anee MP chaired a seminar on water sharing treaties with India in the capital on Tuesday. -AA
A seminar on water-sharing issues between Bangladesh and India was held at the Bangladesh Institute of Law and International Affairs (BILIA) in Dhanmondi, Dhaka, on Tuesday, with experts calling for stronger efforts to protect Bangladesh's interests in transboundary water management.
Immediate past interim government's Law Adviser Professor Dr. Asif Nazrul presented the keynote paper at the seminar. Water Resources Minister Md. Shahiduddin Chowdhury Anee MP chaired the event as the chief guest.
The seminar focused particularly on the future of the Ganges Water Sharing Treaty, signed between Bangladesh and India in 1996. Participants noted that the 30-year treaty is set to expire on December 12, 2026, making the issue of its renewal and the country's broader water-sharing interests increasingly important. Speakers also recalled Bangladesh's earlier initiatives on water-sharing with India. They said martyred President Ziaur Rahman initiated practical steps for a water-sharing treaty with India for the first time in 1977. The seminar further recalled that former Prime Minister Begum Khaleda Zia raised the issue of water discrimination against Bangladesh at the United Nations in 1995, highlighting the country's concerns over equitable sharing of transboundary rivers.
Academic scholars, legal analysts, diplomats and journalists attended the seminar, according to a press release issued by BILIA.
The participants stressed the necessity of legal, diplomatic and international endeavours to ensure equitable water sharing and safeguard Bangladesh's long-term interests in its rivers and water resources.
