Kathmandu [Nepal], Oct 27 – Senior security officials from Nepal and India will begin a three-day coordination meeting in Kathmandu on Wednesday to discuss cross-border crime, drug trafficking, human trafficking and the monitoring of third-country nationals entering and leaving the two countries.
The 10th Nepal-India Annual Coordination Meeting is being organised by Nepal’s Armed Police Force (APF), which is responsible for border security. A team from India’s Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) led by Director General Sanjay Singhal has arrived in Kathmandu on Tuesday.
Nepal’s APF Inspector General Narayan Dutta Poudyal and other senior officials will represent the Nepali side. Representatives from the home and foreign ministries and other relevant agencies of both countries will also participate.
The meeting will focus on managing the 1,751-kilometre open border between Nepal and India, preventing cross-border crime, sharing intelligence, conducting joint border patrols and resolving problems in border areas. Officials will also review the implementation of agreements reached at previous meetings.
Drug trafficking and human trafficking on agenda
The open border allows movement between the two countries but is also used for criminal activities including human trafficking, drug smuggling, customs evasion, theft and illegal trade.
Nepal is expected to seek stronger cooperation and information sharing from India to curb drug trafficking from across the border.
India, meanwhile is expected to raise concerns over terrorism, illegal infiltration, unauthorised movement in border areas and the illegal trade of alcohol from Nepal. The two sides are also expected to discuss cases in which people accused of serious crimes evade authorities by hiding across the border.
Monitoring the movement of third-country nationals will also be on the agenda. At an earlier meeting, the two countries had agreed to strengthen surveillance of third-country nationals travelling through border areas.
India has previously expressed concern about the movement of Indian and Pakistani nationals in border areas, while Nepal has raised concerns about the movement of Rohingya people arriving from Myanmar and Bangladesh.
Joint patrols and border management
The two sides are expected to discuss ways to improve coordination between their security agencies, including joint border patrols, maintenance of border pillars, information sharing and measures to prevent cross-border crime.
Disaster preparedness and response in border areas, capacity building for security personnel, training cooperation and measures to control the illegal movement of goods and substances will also be discussed, according to the APF.
Review of previous agreements
Nepal and India have been holding annual coordination meetings since 2012 with some interruptions including during the COVID-19 pandemic. The ninth meeting was held in New Delhi last year.
That meeting covered cross-border crime, drug trafficking, smuggling and illegal trade, unauthorised movement across the border, information sharing, joint patrols and security training.
Officials are also expected to review why some earlier agreements have not been fully implemented and discuss ways to improve their implementation.
The three-day meeting in Kathmandu is expected to review existing border security challenges and identify ways to strengthen cooperation, information sharing and the implementation of past agreements.
