India yesterday assured Bangladesh of its continued support to help the neighbouring country deal with the Rohingya refugee crisis.

The assurance came when visiting Bangladesh Foreign Minister AH Mahmood Ali met his Indian counterpart Sushma Swaraj at Jawaharlal Nehru Bhavan on Janpath.

During the meeting that lasted from 12:15pm to 1:00pm, the Indian external affairs minister informed Mahmood that the two countries have agreed on a list of 14 projects under the $4.5 billion third Line of Credit (LoC), according to a statement issued by the Bangladesh High Commission last evening. The LoC was announced during the visit of Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in April last year.

Expressing happiness at India's support to Bangladesh during the Rohingya refugee crisis, Mahmood “requested the Indian government to continue with it”. In reply, Swaraj said the support is ensured, the statement said.

She also reiterated India's commitment to supporting the rehabilitation programme to ensure sustainable repatriation of the Rohingya refugees to the Rakhine state.

Mahmood briefed Swaraj on the “arrangement” signed between Bangladesh and Myanmar for “Repatriation of Forcibly Displaced Myanmar Nationals” to Rakhine.

For her part, Swaraj also briefed Mahmood about India's engagement in Northern Rakhine state including construction of pre-fabricated houses for the Rohingya refugees proposed to be repatriated.

Both the ministers discussed the modalities and physical arrangements for early repatriation of the refugees, added the statement.

The Indian minister appreciated the Bangladesh government in managing the Rohingya crisis by saying that it demonstrated “very matured public responses”, said the statement. Both the ministers expressed their strong resolve to continue with the strong bilateral engagements between the neighbours.

Mahmood and Swaraj discussed all the aspects of bilateral relations and took stock of the progress following the 4th Joint Consultative Council (JCC) meeting held in Dhaka in October last year.

“Both of them observed that people-to-people contact is the fundamental aspect to any bilateral relations and noted that visits by various strata of people from both countries are on the rise,” said the statement.

The Bangladesh minister is visiting India to attend the 3rd Raisina Dialogue, the premier foreign policy initiative of India's external affairs ministry, where he is expected to make the keynote speech at the concluding session at the Taj Palace Hotel on January 18. Bangladesh High Commissioner to India Syed Muazzem Ali accompanied Mahmood Ali during the meeting.