India-Bangladesh border talks set to begin in Delhi

NEW DELHI: India and Bangladesh will hold biannual talks between their border guarding forces here beginning Sunday during which the two sides are expected to discuss a host of issues related to combating cross-frontier crimes and measures to create better synergy.

A 15-member delegation of the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB), led by its director general (DG) Major General AKM Nazmul Hasan, landed in Delhi on Saturday. Border Security Force (BSF) DG Sujoy Lal Thaosen and senior officers of the force welcomed them at the airport, officials said.

The four-day talks will conclude on June 14 at a BSF camp in southwest Delhi's Chhawla area.

''The conference is being organised to discuss the border-related issues and for better coordination between both border guarding forces.'' ''Discussions will be held on how to jointly curb the various trans-border crimes and timely sharing of information between both the border guarding forces,'' a BSF spokesperson said in a statement.

Further, there will be deliberations on developmental and infrastructural works, joint efforts for effective implementation of Co-ordinated Border Management Plan (CBMP) and Confidence Building Measures (CBMs), the spokesperson said.

This will be the 53rd edition of the talks and the last such meeting was held in July last year when the BSF delegation travelled to Dhaka.

The BSF guards the 4,096-km-long international border with Bangladesh on India's eastern flank.

These talks were held annually between 1975 and 1992 but they were made biannual in 1993 with either side alternately travelling to the national capitals of New Delhi and Dhaka.

A senior BSF officer had earlier told PTI that the relations between the two countries and their border forces are very good and the conference is expected to enhance these ties.

A 'joint record of discussions' will be signed by the two sides at the end of the conference.