Bangladesh-India to Hold DG-Level Border Talks in Dhaka Next Month

India and Bangladesh will hold "important" Director-General-level border talks in Dhaka next month to address a host of issues related to front-line crimes and other security challenges, officials said Tuesday in the media reports.

The biannual talks will be conducted between the Border Security Force (BSF) and their counterpart the Bangladesh Border Guard (BGB) from 13 to 18 September in Pilkhana, the headquarters of the Bangladeshi Police in Dhaka.

The newly appointed BSF DG Rakesh Asthana will lead a dozen officers with a strong Indian delegation, representatives from the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB), the Ministry of External Affairs and other government agencies.

Bangladesh will be headed by BGB DG Maj Gen Md Shafeenul Islam. The newly appointed BSF DG Rakesh Asthana will lead a dozen officers with a strong Indian delegation, representatives from the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB), the Ministry of External Affairs and other government agencies.

Bangladesh side will be led by BGB DG Maj Gen Md Shafeenul Islam.

"The last time the two sides met was in December in Delhi. The next round of meeting in September is going to be important as a number of bilateral issues along the 4,096 km long front will be discussed and new protocols will be firmed up," a senior officer told PTI.

Relations between the two sides are very good and at an all-time high, and both sides are expected to move forward, he said.

While the Indian side is expected to resolve the problem of mutual border defense control, the blockade of undefended zones, and take decisive steps to curtail cross-border crimes, Bangladeshi border forces are supposed to tackle concerns linked to the killing of its citizens on the line.

New methods of enhancing cooperation and sharing of information while countering issues related to border criminals and illegal crossers are expected to be framed, the officer said.

This is going to be the 50th round of DG-level talks between the two border guarding forces and a host of confidence-building measures (CBM) to enhance cooperation between the two sides will be discussed and formalized after the signing of a joint record of discussion at the end of the talks, the officer said.

The new paradigm of border management at the time of the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic would also be discussed during the talks, where it is also hoped that the Indian side would call on the top leadership of the Bangladeshi government, he added.

Issues like preparing better mechanisms to stop attacks and assault on BSF troops and Indian civilians by criminals of both countries are also expected to be taken up, another officer in the security establishment said.

Other regular issues such as smuggling of cattle, smuggling of counterfeit Indian currency notes, illegal migration and trafficking in human beings, infringement or damage of the international border fence, action against Indian insurgent groups operating on the other side and illegal crossing by nationals of countries other than Bangladesh will also be dealt with, according to the second officer.

Border guards DG-level talks between the two countries began in 1975 and are held biannually, once in Delhi and once in Dhaka, post 1993.

Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla visited Bangladesh earlier this month and held talks with his Bangladeshi counterpart Masud Bin Momen a day after Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina spoke with him.