Foreign Minister Khalilur Rahman sees a new agreement on sharing the waters of the Ganges River as crucial to rebuilding relations between Bangladesh and India. He said a revised Ganges water-sharing deal, based on fairness and climate resilience, will be the first test of efforts to restore bilateral ties.

He made the remarks in an interview with NDTV, which was aired on Saturday. The interview was given in Mauritius, where he attended the Indian Ocean Conference in Port Louis on 9–10 April, organised by the India Foundation.

Khalilur Rahman travelled to Mauritius from Delhi. As the first minister of Bangladesh’s new government to visit India, he was in New Delhi on 7–8 April. During the visit, he held talks with India’s External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and also met National Security Adviser Ajit Doval and Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Hardeep Singh Puri.