Dhaka: Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s New Delhi visit might be delayed further though officials from Dhaka and New Delhi are taking necessary preparations keeping February in mind.

Indicating further delay, an official said that ‘internal busyness’ is one of the reasons behind the possible delay in finalising visit schedules.

Elections in the important Indian State Uttar Pradesh will be held in seven phases starting on 11 February and votes will be counted on 11 March, he said.

Foreign Minister AH Mahmood Ali, on Saturday, described Prime Minister’s upcoming New Delhi visit ‘important and sensitive’ and mentioned that the date of her visit is not finalised yet.

The Prime Minister was scheduled to visit New Delhi in December last but was deferred for certain scheduling problem.

Diplomatic sources said there has been no visible progress on Teesta issue which remains a priority issue for Bangladesh.

Foreign Ministry officials in Dhaka remain resolute that Teesta is ‘not a precondition’ for the upcoming visit. ‘Teesta is the real stuff now in Bangladesh’s relations with India and that’s yet to come,’ said a diplomat.

Indian Minister of State for External Affairs MJ Akbar, however, recently said they are trying their level best to create an internal consensus on Teesta issue by speaking to people concerned namely Bengal (West Bengal) government.

‘We hope there’ll be an agreement between the center and Bengal on Teesta and on other water related issues. And we‘re absolutely certain that the spirit that has been created by Prime Minister (Narendra) Modi and (Prime Minister) Sheikh Hasina will prevail, and hopefully will enable us to solve the outstanding issues as well,’ he added.

The statement makes it clear that the required internal consensus in India is yet to be created, said another diplomat when his attention was drawn about Akbar’s statement.

The diplomat, however, said there are many achievements in the recent years that ended many obstacles and deepened people‐to‐people relationship between the two countries.

Bangladesh and India are likely to sign over two dozens of agreements, including that for the use of Chittagong and Mongla ports by India, during the visit that is likely to take place in March or later.

The two countries might see the signing of cooperation document to strengthen counterterrorism efforts.

India is likely to come up with its fresh commitment for project loans during the visit. A good number of projects have already been identified for which India may offer over $12 billion in credit, diplomatic sources said.

The Indian side has already sent a list of 41 proposed MoUs and deals. The list, however, does not contain Teesta issue, reports UNB.

Foreign Secretary M Shahidul Haque and his Indian counterpart S Jaishankar had a meeting in New Delhi last year and discussed various aspects of the important visit.

At the invitation of Prime Minister Hasina, Modi visited Bangladesh from 6‐7 June in 2015 the two countries came up with a joint declaration ‘Notun Projonmo – Nayi Disha’.

Hasina, during the visit, requested Modi for immediate conclusion of the interim agreement on sharing of the water of Teesta as agreed upon by both the governments in January 2011.

Modi, at that time, conveyed that deliberations are underway involving all stakeholders with regard to conclusion of the interim agreements on sharing of waters of Teesta and Feni as soon as possible.

The two prime ministers noted that discussions on various aspects relating to the sharing of waters of the Manu, Muhuri, Khowai, Gumti, Dharla and Dudhkumar rivers were taking place at technical levels under JRC and asked the concerned officials for taking expeditious action to conclude the sharing arrangements at the earliest.

During her Dhaka visit, Paschimbanga chief minister Mamata Banerjee urged Bangladesh to ‘keep confidence’ in her about the signing of the Teesta water sharing deal between the two countries.