By Madhumita Chakraborty
NEW DELHI, June 25 (Vision Communications): The next round of Indo-Myanmar Regional Border Committee meeting will be held between representatives of the Ministry of Home Affairs and govt of Myanmar on June 26 and 27 in Kolkata to discuss security, militancy and narcotics related issues.
This will be the first official delegation meeting after the two-day Myanmar visit of Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh on May 27 and 28 last.
The 15-odd member Indian delegation will be represented by the MHA Joint Secretary Shambhu Singh.
Apart from the Joint Secretary level meetings which would be held half yearly from now on, the army of the two countries too would meet more often. There would be quarterly meeting of border level officers, Deputy Commissioners and Superintendents of Police.
These meetings are aimed at cementing the friendly bonds between the two countries and increasing cooperation to tackle problems of militancy, drug trafficking etc.
The Kolkata meeting is scheduled to discuss the steps taken by both sides to reduce border crimes and movement of drug peddlers, the presence of anti-Indian militant outfits along the 1,643 km long, mostly unfenced, Indo-Myanmar international border, exchange of intelligence inputs and sharing of interrogation reports of arms smugglers caught in Myanmar.
In the last RCB meeting held on May 8, at the 57 Mountain Division Headquarter at Leimakhong in Manipur, Shambhu Singh and his counterpart had discussed security related issues and the entry of illegal drug from Myanmar to India.
The Myanmarese delegation, however, complained that different Indian armed groups often kidnap Indian businessmen and others for ransom, sometimes even resort to killing.
These criminals often cross the border and take shelter in Myanmar side. Both sides agreed for a Coordinated Border Management action plan which is likely to take a concrete shape in the forthcoming Joint Secretary level meeting in Kolkata.
Besides, India is set to offer more equipment and training programme for the Myanmar narcotic board staff members to effectively prevent the entry of illegal drug into India’s North Eastern states. India has already been helping Myanmar with road building equipment, drug detection equipment, vehicles, computers and so on.
