NEW DELHI, May 9 (Bernama) -- Bangladesh on Tuesday expressed hope that the interim agreement on water sharing of Teesta river will be signed "sooner rather than later" even after India has allayed Dhaka's fears on India's river interlinking projects, saying nothing will be done to affect the interests of neighbours.

During a meeting between Bangladesh Foreign Minister Dipu Moni and India's Water Resources Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal here, both sides discussed the Teesta water sharing agreement, river interlinking projects and the Tipaimukh project that India plans to build over the Barak river, Press Trust of India reported.

"Bansal gave his assurance again on the interlinking project that nothing would be done on the Himalayan component (which has 14 potential interlinking projects) so we need not worry about that," Moni told reporters after meeting the Water Resources Minister at his Parliament House office.

Asked whether she had sought a timeline to sign the Teesta treaty, Moni said: "We hope it can be done sooner rather than later."

Bansal said Moni was told that the Indian government was in the process of formulating an internal consensus on Teesta treaty and was hopeful of achieving positive results.

Asked about reservations expressed by West Bengal state Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on the Teesta treaty, Moni said it is an internal matter for India to work on.

"In Bangladesh, we are waiting eagerly for this interim treaty to be signed."

The signing of the treaty was cancelled during Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's visit to Bangladesh last September allegedly due to opposition from Banerjee.

Dhaka says the waters of Teesta are crucial for Bangladesh especially during the December to March period. Drastic fall in water flow from Teesta during February and March seriously hampers irrigation in Bangladesh.

-- BERNAMA