India’s home minister P. Chidambaram on Saturday said he had “very constructive talks” with his Bangladeshi counterpart to resolve border issues.
Chidambaram’s visit to Bangladesh took place ahead of Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s visit to Dhaka September 6-7. Bangladesh and India expressed firm optimism that the issues of border demarcation and transfer of enclaves would be resolved, reported Xinhua.
“We have very constructive talks. We’re confident all these issues will be resolved before the Prime Minister’s visit,” Chidambaram told reporters after one-and-half-hour meeting with Bangladesh home minister Sahara Khatun here in Dhaka on Saturday. The border issues have remained unresolved for the past 40 years since the liberation of Bangladesh in 1971.
The Indian home minister said headcount of the inhabitants of the enclaves has just been completed. There are 51,000 people — 34,000 Indians and 17,000 Bangladeshis — living in the enclaves.
Chidambaram said the fate of the inhabitants will be decided by the two Prime Ministers when they meet in Dhaka. At the end of the talks, the chiefs of the Border Guard Bangladesh and the Indian Border Security Force signed the Border Management Coordinated Plan aimed at stopping cross-border crimes, including smuggling of drugs and trafficking of women and children. Sahara Khatun led a 17-member Bangladesh delegation while Chidambaram had a 12-member Indian delegation with him at the meeting. Chidamabaram came here on Friday night on a one-day visit.