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Fence breaching by Bangladesh nationals, prevention against assault on Border Security Force (BSF) personnel and Indian civilians and prevention of trans-border crimes are among the key issues to be discussed in the four-day 57th Director General-level Border Co-ordination Conference between the BSF and Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB).
In the conference, scheduled from June 8 to June 11 in the National Capital, discussions will also be held on the prevention of the entry of Bangladeshi criminals into India, construction of a fence, action against Indian Insurgent Groups (IIGs) in Bangladesh, issues related to border infrastructure, Confidence Building Measures (CBM) and others. In a broader perspective, the conference is being organised to discuss the border-related issues and for better coordination between the Border Guarding Forces. During this conference, the BSF delegation, led by its Director General Praveen Kumar, will meet the BGB delegation headed by Major General Mohammad Ashrafuzzaman Siddiqui, Director General, Border Guard Bangladesh. The last BSF-BGB Border Co-ordination Conference was held from August 25 to August 28 last year in Dhaka, Bangladesh. The Joint India-Bangladesh guidelines for Border Authorities - 1975 envisage that there should be frequent contacts between the border authorities of the two concerned countries to discuss matters of immediate administrative concern. An Indian delegation under the leadership of Ashwani Kumar, former Director General of BSF, and the Bangladesh delegation under the leadership of Major General Quazi Golam Dastgir, former Director General BDR (now BGB), met at Kolkata on December 2, 1975, for the first time to discuss mutual border problems. Since then, the meetings between DG BSF and DG BGB were held annually alternatively in India and Bangladesh till 1993. During discussions between the Home Secretaries of India and Bangladesh that were held in Dhaka from October 7 to 9, 1993, it was agreed that the Director General-level meetings between the BSF and BGB were to be a bi-annual event. In the agreed summary of discussions during the meeting, it was emphasised that problems in the areas of mutual interests and concerns could be progressively resolved through close contacts and continuing meaningful dialogue at various levels. Accordingly, DG BSF and DG BGB have been holding Border Coordination meetings twice a year alternately in Delhi and Dhaka, and a joint record of discussions of these meetings is forwarded to the Ministry of Home Affairs after each such meeting. (ANI)
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