Veteran Communist leader and former chief minister of West Bengal, Jyoti Basu, has significantly advised the government of India to follow the same path of dialogue with Bangladesh that it did with Pakistan to defuse tensions with that country. Although the situation between the two pairs of countries is not exactly similar; yet Jyoti Basu's emphasis on dialogue with Bangladesh is significant on two counts: first there has been a surge in bilateral consultations lately in the region; and second, Indo-Bangladesh contacts have been fewer by comparison. Only a comprehensive dialogue can remove the misgivings and misunderstanding that have crept into the relations between the two countries. The foreign secretary level meeting was supposed to be held once a year, but it is regrettable that no such meeting was held in the last two years.

Border tension and other problems with India have cropped up at a time when the winds of change are blowing across the subcontinent. We hope the meeting of the foreign secretaries will take stock of the latest situation, find out the reasons behind border tension, and put forward suggestions for quick resolution of the problems. The postponement of the Saarc summit had put the bilateral relations under strain, too. However, the prospective FS level meeting is good augury and an indication of thaw in the relations that ought to be taken forward through an engaging dialogue between the two next-door neighbouring countries.