India asked neighboring Bangladesh on Thursday for help in combatting terror following several deadly attacks that New Delhi blamed on Bangladesh-based Islamic militants.
Fighting terrorism topped the agenda at a meeting in New Delhi between Indian Foreign Secretary Shivshankar Menon and his Bangladeshi counterpart, Touhid Hossain.
Terrorism has to be tackled resolutely, Menon told reporters after the meeting. We discussed how to meet it together.
India has blamed several recent bomb attacks on the Bangladesh-based Islamic group Harkat-ul-Jehad-i-Islami. However, Bangladesh has denied any involvement by its citizens.
Menon said the security of the two South Asian countries is intertwined.
India shares a porous 2,500-mile border with Bangladesh, and Indian officials believe that some 20 million Bangladeshis are in India illegally.
Hossain described terrorism as a global problem and said the two countries already had a mechanism established for cooperation on such issues.
The two diplomats also agreed that a committee would be formed to settle water disputes between the two countries.
The discussions were very useful and led to much greater understanding of each other's position, Menon said.
