Indian External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar has said Bangladesh and India have agreed upon the safe, speedy and sustainable return of Rohingyas to Myanmar’s Rakhine state. (D. Tribune)
Jaishankar, who is here in a three-day official visit, made the remarks while briefing reports after a bilateral meeting with his Bangladesh counterpart Dr AK Abdul Momen at state guesthouse Jamuna on Tuesday morning.
He also described the Bangladesh-India relations as a model for other South Asian countries.
The Indian external affairs minister called National Register of Citizens (NRC) for Assam an internal issue.
The meeting began at 11:10am and lasted for over one hour.
The NRC update’s purpose is to identify Indian citizens among the residents of Assam, which will then lead to the identification of illegal migrants – who entered Indian territories after March 24, 1971 – and determine their citizenship.
Jaishankar, who arrived here on Monday night, said the two countries have many things to discuss to take the relationship between the countries to the next level.
“We have a very good relationship. We have a very strong relationship. We have many things to discuss about taking the relationship to a higher level,” he told reporters after his arrival at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport.
Before the meeting, the Indian minister visited Bangabandhu Memorial Museum at Dhanmondi 32 and paid tributes to Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman by placing wreaths at his portrait there.
Jaishankar is scheduled to meet Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina at her official residence around 5pm on Tuesday.
Indian High Commissioner in Dhaka Riva Ganguly Das will host a private dinner for the Indian minister in the evening of the same day.
He will leave Dhaka for Kathmandu on Wednesday morning.
India is a leading development partner of Bangladesh as it has extended concessional lines of credit to the tune of around $8 billion.
