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India, Bangladesh sign agreement on security, migration
by Ashok Dixit

     New Delhi: India and Bangladesh signed agreements on security and illegal migration after two days of secretary- level talks in New Delhi on Saturday. Saturday's joint statement , which was prepared after night-long deliberations at the Bangladesh High Commission here on Friday, said both countries would seek to strengthen their existing ties further. Safar Raj Hossain, Bangladesh Home Secretary, said both sides discussed the problem of illegal migration, which has been a major irritant in relations between the neighbours. "The Indian side raised the need for a high level meeting to discuss the problem of illegal cross border movement from Bangladesh and to come up with a suitable mechanism/ protocol," Hossain said. Normally friendly relations between India and Bangladesh have been marred in recent years by border skirmishes and charges by the neighbours that the other harbours insurgents. India accuses Bangladesh for the illegal migration of tens of thousands of poor Bangladeshis who cross the porous border in search of a livelihood. Dhaka denies the charge. "Both sides agreed to provide consular access to each other arrested nationals on a reciprocal basis," Hossain added.

    The two-day long meeting between the interior secretaries of the two sides, which met after a gap of a year, discussed longstanding bilateral issues, including border fencing. "The issue of fencing at the border was discussed by both sides. The Bangladesh side requested the Indian side to provide specific details of the places where fencing is proposed within 150 yards of the international border," Hossain said. India has undertaken erecting wire-fences along most of its porous border with Bangladesh, which it plans to complete by 2007. According to an annual report on the status of India's frontiers, 1,357 km of the border with Bangladesh has been wire-fenced, while another 2,429.5 km would be covered under the second phase. Five Indian states, - West Bengal, Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram, share a 3,900 km (2,430 mile) frontier with Bangladesh.

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