A move has been taken up to open an office of Assistant High Commission (AHC) in Guwahati to facilitate visa process of Indian nationals living in parts of the Seven Sister states.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) has already completed some of the procedures to open the first AHC in India following request from the Indian side.
Sources said at present the Indian nationals from Shillong of Meghalaya and Guwahati of Assam states have to move either to Kolkata or to Agartola to get Bangladeshi visa in absence of any visa processing office nearby.
The issue was also discussed during a meeting between the road transport ministries of India and Bangladesh held in Shillong in May as visa was identified as one of the major causes for not being able to make bus service on Dhaka-Shillong-Guwahati route popular.
Bangladesh and India launched Dhaka-Sylhet-Shillong-Guwahati bus service during the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit here in June 2015. Though Bangladesh continues the bus service from Dhaka, the Indian side is yet to run a single bus from Shillong-Guwahati.
Official sources said the MoFA has already got permission from the ministries of public administration and finance to open the AHC. It has now to complete some other official procedures including approval of the secretarial committee and the cabinet.
However, another reliable source said MoFA is also considering opening a deputy high commission office instead of AHC at Guwahati even after the start of the process in this connection for increasing importance of trade and business activities between Bangladesh and India's north-eastern region.
At present, Bangladesh has its mission office in New Delhi but it has three deputy high commission offices in Mumbai, Kolkata and Agartola to facilitate visa process of Indian nationals as well as other counselling activities.
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