Rohingya Repatriation: Delhi assures Dhaka of continued support

India assured Bangladesh of continued support for safe and speedy repatriation of Rohingya refugees to Myanmar last night.

The promise came during talks between Bangladesh Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal and his Indian counterpart Amit Shah at the latter’s North Block Office in New Delhi.

“The Indian home minister assured the home minister of Bangladesh of India’s continuing support for safe and speedy repatriation of the displaced Myanmar citizens sheltered in Bangladesh, for whom India has provided humanitarian assistance in four tranches since September 2017,” an official statement issued by New Delhi said.

The two leaders also looked forward to enhancing cooperation in simplifying people-to- people contact and travel for business, health and tourism, including through promoting connectivity, the statement added.

“Both the ministers reiterated the significance attached to the Bangladesh-India relationship forged in the 1971 Liberation War, which goes far beyond a strategic partnership,” said the statement.

“Today, our ties are a role model for good neighbourly relations across the world. They are rooted in history, culture, language and shared values of democracy, secularism, development cooperation and countless other commonalities.”

During the meeting, the two ministers expressed satisfaction that both countries were working closer than ever before in every sector, including security and border management, and reiterated their commitment to keep the borders friendly.

“The Indian home minister appreciated Bangladesh’s policy of not allowing use of its territory by extremists and insurgents for perpetrating violence in other countries including India,” it said.

According to it, issues related to bilateral security co-operation were discussed during the meeting.

“Both home ministers reaffirmed the need to further curb the menace of trans-border crimes and agreed to greater co-operation to achieve.”

The statement also said that Amit Shah raised concern regarding “illicit movement of undocumented persons across the border, with a view to find solutions to this problem especially in North East India”.

Shah congratulated Asaduzzaman Khan on his resumption of office as home minister of Bangladesh for a second term and reiterated India’s full support for Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s development agenda.