Bangladesh likely to ease border restrictions with India from next month

In the wake of the improvement in the Covid pandemic situation in India in recent times, Bangladesh is planning to ease border restrictions with the neighbouring country from next month.

“We will review the situation soon and as the Covid situation in India is now better, we hope that we will be able to ease the restrictions from August” Foreign Secretary Masud Bin Momen said while talking to journalist at his office on Tuesday.

But the ongoing restrictions will continue at least up to August 5, when the existing lockdown in Bangladesh will end, he added.

He said that Bangladesh is also assessing the possibility of starting air bubble with India to facilitate passenger movement.

Huge number of Bangladeshi patients and students need to visit India for healthcare and study and restrictions are causing trouble for them.

Since the spike of pandemic in India in March, Bangladesh imposed border restrictions with India allowing only movement of cargoes and stranded visitors.

Responding to a question he said that the government will start administering vaccines among Rohingya refugees soon.

Initially, people aged over 55 in the Rohingya camps will be vaccinated under a scheme of the health ministry.

As Rohingays are n regular contact with the host community it is necessary to vaccinate them to ensure safety of the local people, he said adding that the government already started vaccination for all the foreigners living here.

Replying to another question he said foreign ministry is in regular contact with German Embassy in Dhaka to sort out the visa problem of Bangladeshi students who need to go to Germany to attend their educational institutions.

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