India and Bangladesh will soon ink the crucial Teesta water treaty, said Rajeet Mitter, the Indian high commissioner here who called on president Zillur Rahman on Thursday.

"The Teesta water sharing treaty will be signed soon," a Bangabhaban (presidential palace) spokesman quoted Mitter as telling the Bangladeshi president.

The spokesman said the envoy told the president that an "excellent relation now prevails between India and Bangladesh and the ties would be further expanded in the coming days".

Mitter's comments comes a week after Bangladesh prime minister Sheikh Hasina, during a brief visit to the Tinbigha corridor in Mekhliganj sub-division of Cooch Behar district, expressed the hope that an amicable solution to the distribution of Teesta river water between India and Bangladesh would be found soon.

The expected signing of the treaty was cancelled during prime minister Manmohan Singh's landmark September tour to Dhaka due to opposition from West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee.

The water of Teesta is crucial for Bangladesh, especially during the lean period from December to March. Drastic fall in water flow of Teesta during the lean season, especially in February and March, seriously hampers irrigation in Bangladesh.