US President Joe Biden voices concerns over people's safety in Bangladesh during call with PM Modi: White House

PM Modi and Joe Biden. Pic/PTI

In his call with Prime Minister Narendra Modi last week, US President Joe Biden expressed his concerns about the safety of people in Bangladesh and the future of democratic institutions there, the White House has said, reported news agency PTI.

During the call, US President Joe Biden and PM Modi "shared concerns" on the recent developments in Bangladesh, White House national security communications adviser John Kirby told a press conference on Wednesday.

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"I mean, US President Joe Biden made clear his continued concerns about the safety and security of the people in Bangladesh and the future of their democratic institutions," he said in response to a question, reported PTI.

The statement issued by the White House after the August 26 call did not mention Bangladesh. However, a post on X by PM Modi and a statement issued by his office mentioned that Bangladesh was discussed during the telephonic conversation.

"The two leaders expressed their shared concern over the situation in Bangladesh. They emphasized restoration of law and order and ensuring safety and security of the minorities, particularly Hindus, in Bangladesh," the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) had said.

In his post on X, PM Modi had said, "We also discussed the situation in Bangladesh and stressed on the need for early restoration of normalcy, and ensuring the safety and security of minorities, especially Hindus, in Bangladesh."

India proposes dates for scheduled border talks with Bangladesh

A high-level diplomatic delegation of Bangladesh may arrive in India next month for the traditional bi-annual border talks with their New Delhi counterparts, official sources told PTI.

The talks between the two sides, led by the BSF director general (DG) and the DG of the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB), will be the first meeting of senior officials of the two neighbours for the exchange and sharing of information after the fall of the Sheikh Hasina government last month.

Sources told PTI that India has proposed two sets of dates for these talks, one for later this month and the second for October.

The Bangladeshi side has indicated that they may go for the later date and may travel to India for about four-five days, including the days of arrival and exit, they said.

This will be the 55th edition of the DG-level talks between the BSF and the BGB which also includes officials from the Home Ministry, External Affairs Ministry, anti-narcotics, customs and some other federal agencies from both the countries who have stakes in border management.

The last edition of these talks was held in Dhaka in March.

During that meeting, the Indian delegation led by then BSF DG Nitin Agrawal was able to extract Bangladesh's consent for the creation of a single-row fence at 92 vulnerable patches along the more than 4,000-km-long front, sources told PTI.

"This decision, first approved in 2012, was also recorded by the two sides in the joint record of discussions signed at the end of the meeting. It was a major gain for India as this completed fence infrastructure will further strengthen security along the India-Bangladesh boundary," an officer, who was part of these deliberations, told PTI.

The BSF guards the 4,096-km-long international Indian front with Bangladesh on the country's eastern side.

(With inputs from PTI)