First India-Bangladesh Border Talks Under Modi 2.0 Govt Next Week

This will be the 48th DG-level conference between the two sides since 1975 and will begin in Dhaka next week.

BSF personnel patrolling the India-Bangladesh border near Balurghat in South Dinajpur.

(Photo Courtesy: PTI)  

The border security forces of India and Bangladesh will discuss several issues, including those related to cross-border crimes, as their director generals meet in Dhaka for the first bi-annual talks after the Modi government was re-elected, officials said on Saturday, 8 June.

This will be the 48th DG-level conference between the two sides since 1975 and will begin next week in the Bangladesh capital.

Border Security Force (BSF) Chief R K Mishra will lead a 10-member delegation to the neighbouring country for a five-day visit which starts on 11 June.

The delegation will have officials from the Union Home Ministry, which is the controlling authority of the BSF, and anti-narcotics agencies, and a diplomat from the Indian High Commission in Dhaka.

Talks with the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) will be held at their headquarters in Pilkhana in Dhaka, said the officials.

Measures to Prevent Attacks Against BSF Personnel to Be Discussed

India will take up issues such as BSF personnel being attacked by Bangladeshi criminals in border areas, and those related to cross-frontier smuggling during the traditional bi-annual meeting between the two sides from 11-15 June, they told PTI.

A 19-member BGB delegation, led by Director General (DG) Maj Gen Md Shafeenul Islam, will also be briefed about the frequent instances of fake Indian currency notes, a variety of narcotics, cattle... being smuggled and other related crimes, the officials said.

The last time the two forces met for the DG-level talks was in Delhi in September.

Issues like measures taken to prevent attacks against BSF personnel, joint efforts to prevent trans-border crimes, action against Indian insurgent groups (operating from the other side) are part of the agenda for the DG-level talks, the officials said.

Subjects related to border infrastructure, simultaneously coordinated patrolling in vulnerable areas of the border and a mutual sharing of information would also be part of the discussions, they said.

Issues Such as Movement of Rohingyas, Drug Smuggling to Be Addressed

Relations between the two sides are very good, and it is expected that new dimensions will be added to the relationship to effectively guard the 4,096-km frontier shared by the two countries, the officials said.

The two sides are also likely to share updates about the movement of Rohingyas along the India-Bangladesh border and prepare confidence-building measures regarding it to quickly resolve issues like the standoff in January along the international border in Tripura.

The BGB is expected to take up issues like smuggling of various types of drugs from India to Bangladesh and the arrest or apprehension of Bangladeshi nationals by BSF, a senior official in the security establishment said.

A joint record of the discussion will be signed by the two forces at the end of the talks, he added.

The two sides travel to either side of the border once a year for these talks. This will be their first high-level meet after Prime Minister Narendra Modi was sworn in for a second term in May.

(This piece has been edited for clarity.)