Indo-Bangla secretary level consultations to begin tomorrow

Dhaka, June 24 (UNI) After a gap of over two years, Indo-Bangladesh Foreign Secretary level consultations begin here tomorrow to discuss an entire range of bilateral issues, including trade, transportation, border demarcation and security concerns between the two neighbours.

A four-member Indian delegation, led by Foreign Secretary Shiv Shankar Menon, arrived here this afternoon for the consultation.

''I look forward to finding ways to do so with friends in Bangladesh in the next few days,'' he said in his arrival statement at the Zia International Airport, adding that they must move their bilateral relations to an ''irreversible higher trajectory''.

Earlier, a Foreign Ministry official release here said the two sides would have ''wide-ranging discussions on all aspects of Indo-Bangladesh bilateral relations'' during the four-day visit.

Besides, the Indian Foreign Secretary would also call on high dignitaries in Bangladesh as part of the parleys.

''The government is of the view that the visit of the Indian Foreign Secretary will be yet another important opportunity to carry on the process of constructive and forward-looking engagement between the two countries,'' the release said.

The upcoming Foreign Office Consultations, it is hoped, would also help advance the Indo-Bangladesh relations enriching further the cooperation between two friendly next-door neighbours in areas of common interests.

The release said over the years both the countries tried to resolve longstanding problems, mostly dating back to the 1947 partition of the subcontinent, through negotiations at different levels of the two governments. But many, some considered irritants, still remain to be resolved.

UNI