53rd DG level border talks kick off in New Delhi

The four-day long 53rd Director General (DG) level border conference between Border Guards of Bangladesh (BGB) and Indian Border Security Force (BSF) has begun in the Indian capital.

The formal meeting of the conference began at 10.30am on Sunday at BSF Chhawla Camp in New Delhi.

A 14-member Bangladeshi delegation led by Major General AKM Nazmul Hasan, director general of BGB, participated in the conference while his counterpart Sujoy Lal Thaosen, director general of BSF led a 10-member Indian delegation at the four-day talks, scheduled to end Wednesday with the signing of a Joint Record of Discussions (JRD).

The meeting discussed issues relating to shooting, killing and injuring unarmed Bangladeshi nationals along the border and smuggling of various types of contraband including narcotics, arms and ammunition into Bangladeshi territory, said Shariful Islam, public relation officer of the BGB headquarters.

Infiltration of forcibly displaced Myanmar nationals into Bangladesh through the Indian border and disposing of unauthorised development infrastructure and other stalled development works within 150 yards of the border were also discussed on the first day of the meeting, he added.

Besides, some other issues, including the establishment of appropriate water treatment plant to remove waste water from border canal flowing from Agartala towards Akhaura; re-opening of Rahimpur canal mouth with Kushiara river in Jokiganj; exchange of information on possible locations of regional separatist armed terrorist groups' camps and their activities; preventing expansion of Indian telecom networks inside Bangladesh borders were discussed at the conference.

Effective implementation of the 'Coordinated Border Management Plan-CBMP' to solve border management and border-related problems, development of bilateral relations and various initiatives aimed at increasing mutual trust and goodwill were also addressed.

Earlier, a 10-member Bangladeshi delegation led by BGB director general Major General A K M Nazmul Hasan reached New Delhi from Dhaka on Saturday Noon to join the border talks.

BSF director general Sujoy Lal Thaosen welcomed and received Major General A K M Nazmul Hasan when he reached Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi.

After the completion of the conference, the Bangladesh delegation will return home on Wednesday afternoon.