India's border force members will send their school-going children on an excursion to Bangladesh next week in response to an offer made by the Border Guards Bangladesh (BGB) as a token of goodwill and good-neighbourly attitude.

The Border Security Force (BSF) of India during a sector-level meeting held yesterday in Benapole accepted the offer almost immediately and said they would send a batch of their children on a study tour on February 5.

It came as much of a relief at a time when several recent incidents of killings and excesses by the BSF along the border left scars in the bilateral relations.

Joynal Hossain, Benapole Check Post BGB camp commander, told The Daily Star that the meeting was held in a friendly atmosphere between the two border forces.

The meeting mooted issues concerning border peace, mutual progress, education, and many other common problems in the bordering areas.

Nonetheless, the BGB's offer for the BSF wards' study tour in Bangladesh changed the whole mood of the discussion with a positivevibe.

BSF's 36 Battalion Staff Officer in Kolkata JSND Prasad, BSF local Commanding Officer AK Sinha, Subhashis Biswas and other senior officials attended the meeting.

On behalf of Bangladesh, Dhaka 44 Battalion Commanding Officer Lt Col Zakir Hossain, 22 Battalion Commanding Officer Lt Col Dewan Ali Akbar, Maj Galib and 26 Battalion's Maj Wahid and Deputy Assistant Director Nazrul Islam were present.