Discussions at technical level on Ganges water treaty ongoing: Randhir Jaiswal

Spokesperson of India's Ministry of External Affairs, Randhir Jaiswal, has said discussions at the technical level between India and Bangladesh on the Ganges water-sharing treaty are continuing.

He said this in response to a question at the biweekly briefing of India's Ministry of External Affairs on Tuesday, September 29.

Recently, a Bangladeshi minister spoke of reviewing the Ganges water-sharing treaty anew instead of renewing it. Asked about India's position on the matter, Randhir Jaiswal said there is a Joint Rivers Commission (JRC) of the two countries to discuss the water of the Ganges and other common rivers. Alongside this, technical-level meetings are also continuing.

The Ganges water-sharing treaty signed between Bangladesh and India in 1996 is scheduled to expire in December 2026. The treaty sets a framework between the two countries on the dry season water sharing of the Ganges.

NSA's Dhaka visit
Asked about reports of the Indian National Security Adviser's (NSA) visit to Dhaka, Randhir Jaiswal said he has no information or update on the matter.

Erdogan's remarks on Kashmir
Asked about Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan again raising the Kashmir issue at the UN General Assembly session, Jaiswal said the Indian government formally rejects that remark.

He said Jammu and Kashmir is a union territory of India and is an internal matter of India's geographical integrity and sovereignty. He also conveyed India's position that no external party has any right or jurisdiction over the matter.

India's position on the Palestine issue
The IBSA joint statement issued after the meeting of the foreign ministers of India, Brazil and South Africa on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly session spoke of not changing the demographic character of Gaza and the occupied Palestinian territories.

In response to a question on whether India and Israel held bilateral discussions on Israeli settlements in the West Bank, Jaiswal said the meeting discussed development, economic and political issues and a joint statement was later issued.

Highlighting India's position on the Palestine issue, he said India remains firm in its position in favour of a "two-state solution".

Indian ships in the Persian Gulf
Jaiswal also provided information on Indian-flagged and Indian-interest ships in the Persian Gulf and Indian sailors working there.

He said India has six India-flagged commercial ships in the Persian Gulf, west of the Strait of Hormuz. Additionally, there are six foreign-flagged ships heading towards India. In total, there are 12 ships there, with 163 Indian sailors working on them.

Besides this, more than 4,500 Indian sailors are working on other commercial ships in the entire region. He said India's Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways and the concerned embassies are regularly monitoring their security situation.

Turkey's membership in SCO
A report recently published in a Hungarian media outlet claimed that India opposed Turkey's membership in the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO). Asked about India's position on the matter, Jaiswal said the inclusion of any new member in the SCO depends on the unanimous and collective decision of all member states of the organisation.