Foreign Affairs Adviser Md Touhid Hossain on Tuesday said that only one agreement signed with India during the Sheikh Hasina-led Awami League regime has been cancelled.

Mentioning that the news of scrapping 10 agreements and projects is incorrect, the adviser told the media that the cancelled deal involved the purchase of tugboats from India.

His remarks came after Local Government, Rural Development and Co-operatives Adviser Asif Mahmud Shojib Bhuyain shared information about scrapping the agreements in a Facebook post on Sunday night.

Touhid, however, made no comments on the issue on Monday.

Meanwhile, an official at the Indian High Commission in Dhaka told the Daily Sun that they were not aware of any agreement cancellations. “We have not received any such communication from the interim government of Bangladesh.”

Asif Mahmud’s Facebook post

In the Facebook post, Adviser Asif Mahmud wrote that discussions on the agreements began soon after the interim government assumed office, and the decision was made following a thorough review.

The Kushiara River water-sharing project initiated in 2022 has been suspended, while the Adani Power electricity import agreement (2017) is under reconsideration.

In addition, the government has placed the Ganga water-sharing agreement (1996) under “renewal/reconsideration”.

The Teesta River water-sharing agreement (which was in draft form) is under discussion for implementation, Asif wrote.

Foreign Adviser Touhid on Tuesday said many of the agreements said to be cancelled do not actually exist.

“The list shared on an adviser’s Facebook page is inaccurate. Most of the agreements on that list do not exist in reality. One agreement is very old, while several others are under review and are not known by the same titles.”

Touhid said there are no agreements concerning the Tripura-Chattogram rail link project or the Abhaypur-Akhaura railway expansion.

He said there is nothing called the Ashuganj-Agartala corridor; what exists under that name is the four-lane project for the Ashuganj river port-Sarail-Dharkhar-Akhaura land port highway, and one of its packages has been cancelled.

The said agreement on the Feni River water management project is not in reality, rather there is a memorandum of understanding on it, which has not been scrapped, the adviser said.

Mentioning that there is no agreement on the Kushiara River water-sharing project, he said. “In this case, we have an MoU, which has not been suspended.”

Besides, there is nothing about the port-related road and waterway development agreement, he said. “What exists is the arrangement for transporting goods between Bangladesh and India using the Mongla port, which has not been cancelled.”

The adviser added that there are no agreements regarding Bangladesh’s financial assistance proposal for the Farakka-related project, the Sylhet–Silchar connectivity project, or the petroleum pipeline extension.

Touhid said the agreement on the Indian economic zones has not been cancelled and the process is underway, while the Adani Power electricity import agreement is under reconsideration.

The Ganga water-sharing agreement will expire next year and discussions will be held for its renewal, he said.

“Regarding the Teesta agreement, we have been working on it for a long time, though progress has not been significant.”

However, the adviser also said that the review process of various agreements with India is ongoing.