The 56th Director General (DG)-level border conference between Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) and India’s Border Security Force (BSF) formally began Tuesday morning at the BGB’s Pilkhana Headquarters, according to a BGB press release.
BGB DG Major General Mohammad Ashrafuzzaman Siddiqui leads the 21-member Bangladesh delegation, while BSF DG Daljit Singh Chaudhary heads the 11-member Indian team.
The Bangladesh delegation includes senior BGB officials and representatives from the Office of the Chief Adviser, Ministry of Home Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Shipping, Roads Division, Land Survey Department, Joint Rivers Commission, and the Narcotics Control Department.
The Indian delegation comprises senior BSF officials, officials from the Indian Home and External Affairs Ministries, and the Indian High Commission in Dhaka.
The four-day conference, set to conclude on August 28, will focus on preventing border killings, push-ins, and illegal infiltration, as well as smuggling of drugs, arms, ammunition, and other contraband from India.
Other key topics include preventing unauthorised infrastructure construction within 150 yards of the international border, preserving border riverbanks, ensuring fair water sharing of border rivers, and taking joint initiatives to implement the Integrated Border Management Plan.
The conference will also address recent anti-Bangladesh propaganda in the Indian media and other bilateral issues concerning border interests.
The previous BGB-BSF DG-level conference was held in Delhi in February. This year’s meeting in Dhaka continues the dialogue, with the BGB emphasising the country’s and the people’s interests.