NEW DELHI: With the exchange of enclaves along the India-Bangladesh border set to get over by July 31, a high-level delegation of the neighbouring country’s border guarding force BGB is set to arrive here next month.
The visit assumes significance as this will be the first official Bangladeshi team to arrive after the historic Land Boundary Agreement has been put on ground and its basic formalities are expected to get over this month-end.
Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) Director General Maj Gen Aziz Ahmed is slated to arrive here on August 2 as part of the bi-annual Directors General (DsG) level talks with their counterparts Border Security Force (BSF).
“The BGB delegation will be here for six days between September 2-7. A joint record of discussions will also be signed at the end of discussions between the two sides which will surely include new issues emerging out after the historic signing of the LBA between the two countries,” a senior official said.
The Indian side will be led by BSF DG Devendra Kumar Pathak along with senior officials of the Union Home Ministry, External Affairs Ministry and those from other law enforcement agencies.
The delegation will also call on Home Minister Rajnath Singh and other senior officials of the ministry.
Amongst the other things on the discussion table, the two sides will also discuss issues related to border management, activities of , activities of insurgents and smugglers along the 4,096km border that the two neighbours share.
Subjects related to smuggling of fake Indian currency notes (FICN), security of border guarding personnel and identification of sensitive posts along the Indo-Bangla border are also on the table.
The Bangladeshi side is also expected to take up the issue of the trial of the killing of a young girl Felani Khatun, who was allegedly shot dead on the border in 2011 by a BSF troop.
A special force court had recently acquitted the border guard of these charges.
“Both the forces will also exchange the new position of enclaves and the gist of recent changes and survey that have occurred in areas where the LBA was implemented,” the official said.
The LBA aims to settle the 41-year-old land boundary dispute between the two nations through exchange of territories, removing a major irritant in bilateral ties.
The last times the two sides met was in December last year when the BSF delegation travelled to Dhaka.
A special ‘maitri’ (friendly) handball match between the troops of the two forces is also expected to be held here during the course of the visit.
