India, Bangladesh agree to step up coop in border management

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, February 27

India and Bangladesh today held the 19th Home Secretary level talks, in which the two sides agreed to step up the level of cooperation between the forces and agencies in preventing smuggling of fake Indian currency notes (FICN), contraband and human trafficking across the borders.

Significantly, the meeting was held ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Bangladesh scheduled next month and also in the backdrop of “Mujib Barsho”, 50 years of Bangladesh Liberation War and the establishment of diplomatic ties between the two countries.

The Indian delegation, which was led by Union Home Secretary Ajay Kumar Bhalla, held interactions in the virtual mode with a team of senior Bangladeshi officials led by Mostafa Kamal Uddin, Senior Secretary, Public Security Division of that country’s Ministry of Home Affairs, the government said in an official release.

“Both sides discussed early completion of the pending fencing along the Indo-Bangladesh border as agreed by the Prime Ministers of the two countries,” said the MHA in the release.

It added that both sides appreciated the cooperation between the two countries and the action taken to address “the menace of terrorism and extremism in an effective manner”.

“The effective functioning of the Coordinated Border Management Plan to control the illegal cross-border activities was appreciated by both sides. The two sides also agreed to further enhance the level of cooperation to prevent the smuggling of FICN, contraband and human trafficking,” the MHA release noted.

It also mentioned that the two sides appreciated the holding of the inaugural Police Chiefs’ Dialogue in January 2021, as a decision in this regard was taken at the Home Minister-level talks held in August 2019.

According to the MHA release, Bangladesh “appreciated” assistance provided by India in the field of training and capacity building for various security agencies.

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