The BSF (left) and BGB delegations during their talks in New Delhi. (Photo: BSF Twitter official handle)A high-level meeting between the border forces of India and Bangladesh began in New Delhi, on Monday, where the two sides are expected to discuss action against insurgent groups and movement of displaced Rohingyas, a senior BSF official said. “The director general-level 47th Indo-Bangladesh Border Coordination Conference between the Border Security Force and Border Guard Bangladesh, began today,” a BSF spokesman said. The spokesman had, on Sunday, said India will take up issues like BSF personnel being attacked by Bangladeshi criminals and those related to cross-border smuggling. It is expected that the two sides will also share updates about the movement of Rohingyas in their respective jurisdictions. A 13-member delegation of the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB), led by its DG Major Genaral Mohd Shafeenul Islam, had arrived in India, on Sunday, to hold the biannual talks with their counterparts – BSF – as part of their six-day tour. The 13-member Border Security Force (BSF) side will be led by DG KK Sharma. The biannual meeting comes at a time when relations between India and Bangladesh are at an all-time high, the spokesman said. “Issues like preventing attacks on BSF personnel by Bangladeshi criminals, joint efforts to prevent transborder crimes, action against Indian insurgent groups (operating from the other side) among others are part of the agenda for the DG-level talks,” he said. The spokesman further added that issues related to border infrastructure, simultaneous coordinated patrol in vulnerable areas of the border and mutual sharing of information are also part of the BSF agenda. According to the spokesman, the Dhaka-headquartered BGB is expected to take up issues like smuggling of various types of drugs/narcotics from Bangladesh and arrest or apprehension of Bangladeshi nationals by the BSF among others. A joint record of discussion will be signed between the two forces on September 7. The visiting delegation is expected to return on September 8. This is the 47th DG-level conference between the two sides since it began in 1975. The last time the two forces met for such a meeting was in April this year, in Dhaka. India and Bangladesh share a 4,096km border.
