India and Bangladesh agreed Sunday to work together to combat cross-border crime and insurgent activities, officials here said.
Top Indian and Bangladeshi paramilitary frontier officials beginning a four-day meeting in Agartala, capital of north-eastern state Tripura, said the countries would "cooperate" to stop separatists and criminals either side of the border.
"The two sides agreed in principle to share information and work in total coordination to help each protect their respective territories from the nefarious designs of either criminals and insurgent groups," the inspector-general of the Indian Border Security Force (BSF), V.K. Gaur, told AFP.
The 11-member Bangladeshi delegation is headed by A.S. Choudhury, deputy director general of Bangladesh Rifles (BDR), while the Indian side is represented by the frontier chief of the BSF, Arvind Ranjan.
The four-day meeting, which began Sunday, will also cover "confidence-building" measures between the frontier guards of the two countries sort out boundary disputes along the 4,000-kilometre (2,480-mile) border.
"The meeting started on a very positive note and we are hopeful of sorting out any misunderstanding between the two sides on sensitive issues," Gaur said -- AGARTALA, India (AFP)
