India, Bangladesh Set Up New Border Hotline

India and Bangladesh have concluded their biannual director general-level talks between the Border Security Force (BSF) and the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB). The three-day meeting, held from February 18 to February 20, 2025, resulted in significant agreements, including the establishment of a new communication link between deputy commanders and identifying new border patches for fencing.

Key Highlights of the Meeting

New Communication Link

• A “hotline” will be established between the Additional Director General (ADG) of BSF’s Eastern Command (Kolkata) and his BGB counterpart in Dhaka.
• This is in addition to the existing hotlines between force chiefs and other officers.

Border Fencing and Security Measures

• India and Bangladesh identified 99 fresh patches (covering 70-72 km) for the construction of border fencing.
• The existing fencing work on 92 patches (95.8 km) is already in progress.
• Of the 4,096 km India-Bangladesh border, 864.48 km remains unfenced, including a 174.51 km “non-feasible” gap.

Enhancing Cross-Border Crime Prevention

• BSF urged BGB to take stringent action against miscreants attempting to breach border security.
• BGB agreed to strengthen joint patrolling, especially during night hours.

Handling Border Incidents

• BSF emphasized that any attack on its personnel and Indian civilians by Bangladeshi miscreants will be dealt with strictly.
• Both forces agreed to improve intelligence-sharing and communication for real-time issue resolution.

Future Talks

• The next round (56th edition) of BSF-BGB talks will be held in Bangladesh in July 2025.