The 41st Director General-level border coordination conference between BSF and BGB that began here on Monday will deliberate on border-related issues and better coordination between both the border guarding forces of India and Bangladesh.
The Indian delegation for the four-day conference include officials of Ministries of Home, External Affairs, NIA and Survey of India and will discuss issues including trans-border crimes, FICN smuggling, activities of Indian insurgent groups in Bangladesh, prevention of illegal migration and CBMs with the delegation from Bangladesh.
This is the first DG-level conference after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Bangladesh and implementation of the land boundary agreement between the two countries.
A 22-member delegation of the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB), which arrived here on Sunday, held talks with Border Security Force (BSF) for their four-day Director General level talks on a range of issues at the paramilitary forces’ headquarter here.
BGB DG Maj Gen Aziz Ahmed was accorded a formal guard of honour by BSF before the start of talks on Monday and BSF DG Devendra K Pathak received the delegation personally at the Indira Gandhi International Airport on Saunday, a senior official said.
“The emerging border scenario after the lBA will also be discussed,” a senior official had said. The two sides will also sign a joint declaration on August 6, a day before the Bangladeshi delegation returns to Dhaka.
BSF had said the two sides are expected to discuss issues related to trans-border crimes including instances of cattle smuggling, pumping in of fake Indian currency, activities of Indian insurgent groups based in Bangladesh, prevention of illegal migration, joint efforts for effective implementation of common agenda programmes and a host of other confidence-building measures.
At the stroke of Friday mid-night, 51,000 stateless people of India and Bangladesh attained citizenship when the two countries ended decades of their lingering wait by exchanging 162 adversely-held enclaves between them.
The visiting delegation will also call on Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh, Home Secretary lC Goyal and other senior officers of the Ministry.
The last BSF-BGB Border Co-ordination Conference was held in December 2014 at Dhaka. A special friendly Handball Match between the teams of BSF and BGB will be held at Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium here on Wednesday.