India And Bangladesh To Resume Border Talks In February To Resolve Fence Disputes And Address Rising Infiltration Attempts

The twice-postponed Director General (DG) level talks between India and Bangladesh are now expected to take place in the third week of February in New Delhi.

The primary focus of these discussions will be resolving the ongoing issues surrounding the proposed construction of a single-row fence along the India-Bangladesh border.

The talks, scheduled between 16 and 19 February, will be part of the 55th edition of the bi-annual discussions between the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) and India's Border Security Force (BSF).

These talks are expected to address several key issues, including the rise in infiltration attempts following the regime change in Bangladesh, according to official sources.

A senior BSF officer stated that the single-row fence construction along the front is "continuing with a few issues here and there." The fence is being constructed to close gaps along the border, particularly in West Bengal, Assam, and Tripura, areas where Bangladesh has raised concerns.

One of the major points of contention will be Bangladesh's objections to the construction of the fence, which is intended to cover 92 identified patches along 95.8 km of the 4,096 km international border.

These concerns are expected to be addressed with "prominence" during the upcoming talks.

The Indian government has expressed its expectation that "all earlier understandings will be implemented by Bangladesh and that there will be a cooperative approach to combating cross-border crimes."

This includes tackling issues such as human trafficking and smuggling, which have been exacerbated by an increase in infiltration attempts.

Between August and December 2024, the BSF apprehended 1,956 Bangladeshi nationals, which accounted for more than half of the total 3,474 such apprehensions for the entire year.

The rise in border violations is linked to the political changes in Bangladesh and is expected to be a key discussion point during the DG-level talks.

The DG-level talks have been held bi-annually since 1993, with the last meeting taking place in Dhaka in March 2024.