Committed to speedy return of Rohingya Muslims to Myanmar, Rajnath tells Hasina
NEWDELHI: India on Saturday told Bangladesh that it was “committed to helping in the safe, speedy and sustainable return” of Rohingya Muslims to their homes in Myanmar while lauding the neighbouring country for addressing the security concerns of New Delhi.
Union home minister Rajnath Singh, who is on a three-day visit to the neighbouring country, told Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina that for return of Rohingya Muslims to Myanmar, India is working on a project to construct prefabricated housing in Rakhine State so as to meet the needs of the displaced persons.
“India will also continue to provide relief material and supplies to help Government of Bangladesh deal with the needs of those in the relief camps,” a government statement quoted Rajnath Singh as saying while calling on Hasina in Dhaka on Saturday.
More than six lakh Rohingya Muslims have taken shelter in Bangladesh following violence in Rakhine State in August last year.
Rajnath Singh and Sheikh Hasina noted that “much has been achieved by India and Bangladesh by working together to counter the menace of terrorism and radicalisation”. “They agreed that all countries in the region that are afflicted by this menace should proactively join hands to effectively tackle it. The home minister also thanked the Prime Minister for the cooperation extended by Bangladesh in addressing India’s security concerns,” said the statement.
Singh’s praise for Sheikh Hasina comes in the backdrop of upcoming elections in Bangladesh where the ruling Awami League party is always seen as more willing to address Indian security concerns than the opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party of Begum Khalida Zia. Singh along with his Bangladesh counterpart Asaduzzaman Khan inaugurated a state-of-the-art visa centre in Dhaka. The new centre is equipped with a range of modern facilities. Indian High Commissioner to Bangladesh Harsh Vardhan Shringla told the media that “this is the largest Indian visa centre in the world and possibly the largest anywhere”. Bangladeshis constitute one of the largest numbers of visitors from a single country to India.
Singh and Khan also jointly inaugurated the Bangladesh-india Friendship Building at the Bangladesh Police Academy in Sardah of Rajshahi. The newly inaugurated facility incorporates state-of-the-art forensic laboratories, mock crime scenes, mock police station and IT centre with computer labs.
(With agency inputs)