The agreement was reached at a meeting held in Bangkok between Prime Minister Khaleda Zia and her Indian counterpart Manmohan Singh on the sidelines of the BIMSTEC summit that concluded in the Thai capital yesterday afternoon.

Both Khaleda and Singh agreed on holding regular expert level dialogue on water management. They observed that dialogue on management of joint rivers and flood control would be a continuous process.

Earlier, the Indian prime minister expressed his sympathy for the flood affected people of Bangladesh.

Singh said he would try to do something for the flood-affected people of Bangladesh, despite similar calamity in some parts of his country.

Khaleda described the existing Bangladesh-India relationship as excellent and underscored the need for dialogue at different levels to resolve the outstanding issues.

Singh laid importance on long-term interests and utilisation of potentials in cooperation between the two countries. He said India will not implement any river linking project without discussing with Bangladesh.

The meeting at Thai foreign ministry lasted for half an hour. After the meeting, Bangladesh Foreign Secretary Shamsher M Chowdhury told reporters that his country was happy with the content and outcome of the meeting. The meeting was held in a very cordial and friendly atmosphere, he added.

Indian prime minister suggested for strengthening communication network between the two countries. He said economic issues received priority in his country's bilateral relations with the neighbours. Negotiations on free trade agreement are going on and non-tariff and para-tariff issues will be solved through discussion, he hoped.

Khaleda sought more investment from India and hoped that the Indian investors would come forward and utilise the congenial investment climate in Bangladesh.

She extended an invitation to the Indian prime minister to visit Bangladesh. Singh accepted the invitation and reciprocated by inviting Khaleda to visit India.

Foreign Minister M Morshed Khan, Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister Kamal Uddin Siddiqui, Foreign Secretary Shamsher M Chowdhury and Bangladesh Ambassador to Thailand Shahed Akhter were present on the Bangladesh side.

Indian Foreign Minister Natwar Singh and prime minister's national security adviser, among others, were present on the Indian side.