A high-level bilateral meeting between the border guarding forces of India and Bangladesh began here on Monday where the two sides will discuss action taken against Indian insurgent groups operating from across the border and movement of displaced Rohingyas along the border between the two countries.
The DG-level talks between Border Security Force and Bangla counterpart Border Guard Bangladesh is being held here as part of the biannual border coordination conference. This is the 47th such meeting under the mechanism and the last conference was held in Dhaka in April this year.
The BSF will take up the issue of its personnel being attacked by Bangladeshi criminals and those related to cross-border smuggling syndicates.
A 13-member delegation of the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) led by Director General (DG) Maj Gen Md Shafeenul Islam who had arrived here on Sunday will lead the Bangla delegation that is on a six-day official tour of in India. DG, BSF KK Sharma leads the 13-member delegation from the Indian side.
Issues like preventing attacks on BSF personnel by Bangladeshi criminals, joint efforts to prevent trans-border crimes, action against Indian insurgent groups (operating from the other side) among others are part of the agenda for the DG-level talks, according to a BSF spokesperson.
In addition, issues related to border infrastructure, simultaneous coordinated patrol in vulnerable areas of the border and mutual sharing of information are also part of the topics to be raised by the BSF.
The BGB is expected to take up issues like smuggling of various types of drugs/narcotics into Bangladesh and arrest or apprehension of Bangladeshi nationals by the BSF among others.
At the conclusion of the talks, a joint record of discussion will be signed between the two forces on September 7.
The biannual talks between the two forces has been continuing after the mechanism was instituted in 1975.
The BSF and BGB guard the 4,096-km border on the respective side of their border between the two countries.