Indian PM Singh on 'historic' Bangladesh visit

DHAKA: Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was to arrive in Dhaka on Tuesday on a much-anticipated visit just months after he triggered a row with comments that many Bangladeshis were "anti-Indian".

A raft of landmark agreements -- including deals on ending long-running border disputes and sharing water from the Teesta river -- are expected to be signed during the two-day visit.

Relations between the two South Asian neighbours have been marked by decades of mutual mistrust and low-level border clashes that have prevented the development of substantive trade and political ties.

The last visit by an Indian premier was in 1999 and Singh will be the first prime minister from India's Congress Party to visit in nearly 40 years.

"We attach the highest importance to further developing and strengthening our relations with Bangladesh," Singh said in a statement issued before his arrival.

"Our partnership with Bangladesh is important for the stability and prosperity of our own northeast region."

His trip comes after an embarrassing slip-up in June, when remarks by Singh claiming that many Bangladeshis were "very anti-Indian" were posted on his official website before being swiftly removed with the explanation that they were "off the record".

Nevertheless ties have improved since the traditionally pro-Indian Awami League party, led by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, swept to power in 2009 polls.

Last year India gave Bangladesh a billion-dollar soft loan, the biggest credit package New Delhi has ever earmarked for any nation.

They are also scheduled to sign a water sharing agreement for a key common river, the Teesta, which would guarantee the flow of water to Bangladesh's most impoverished and water-starved northwestern districts.

However the signing has been put in doubt after the chief minister of West Bengal -- the largest Indian state bordering Bangladesh -- pulled out of Singh's delegation, saying the new treaty conceded too much. (AFP)