By IANS
New Delhi : Management of the border, security and enhanced police cooperation will top the agenda when the home secretaries of India and Bangladesh meet here for two-day talks beginning Thursday.
New Delhi, Aug 1 (IANS) Management of the border, security and enhanced police cooperation will top the agenda when the home secretaries of India and Bangladesh meet here for two-day talks beginning Thursday.
This will be the eighth edition of bilateral talks between the two sides after an institutional mechanism was set up in 1994 to resolve security and border management issues.
While the last three rounds of talks have witnessed discussions on cross-border smuggling, counterfeit bills, ratification of the Land Border Agreement of 1974 and infiltration and there has seen some movement on these issues, there has been no agreement to claims of both sides that the other is harbouring rebel groups.
"We are concerned that insurgent groups in the northeastern states are using Bangladesh as a base for carrying out bombing campaigns," said a home ministry official.
But Bangladesh, in turn, claims India is harbouring rebels and criminals. On several occasions, both countries have exchanged lists of top criminals but there has been no proposal by the two neighbours to carry out joint operations against the insurgents.
Mohammed Abdul Karim will head the five-member Bangladeshi delegation that will include the director general of the Bangladesh Rifles, Major General Shakeel Ahmed.
Home Secretary Madhukar Gupta will lead the Indian side and he will be assisted by the director general of the Border Security Force, Ashish Kumar Mitra.
The delegation is also likely to visit the National Police Academy at Hyderabad before it returns to Dhaka.
The last talks were held at Dhaka in August 2006.