DHAKA: The government has finalized the framework of Teesta River water-sharing agreement with India for the interim period.

Water Resources Affairs Minister Anisul Islam Mahmud made the disclosure while addressing parliament in response to a query from M Abdul Latif on Tuesday.

Expressing hope for signing the deal, the Jatiya Party lawmaker also told the House that the water-sharing deal with the neighboring country would be signed as soon as possible.

He said Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina convinced India to sign the only one comprehensive river pact, Ganga agreement with Bangladesh--a 1996 bilateral treaty that established a 30-year water-sharing arrangement between the two countries.

The premier has also been trying her level best for Teesta river water-sharing agreement since just after taking the charges of the country in 2009, the House was told.

Anisul Islam also expressed his hope that the neighboring country India would response to Bangladesh’s proposal soon.

However, India and Bangladesh share 53 rivers. Despite setting up a Joint Rivers Commission (JRC) for water management in 1972, tension between the countries on how to share resources came to a head over the Teesta River.

BDST: 1940 HRS, SEP 02, 2014