NRC India’s internal issue: Jaishankar

Visiting Indian external affairs minister S Jaishankar on Tuesday said Bangladesh and India agreed on safe, speedy and sustainable return of Rohingyas to their place of origin in Myanmar’s Rakhine state, reports UNB.

He made the remarks while briefing newsmen after a bilateral meeting with his Bangladesh counterpart AK Abdul Momen at state guesthouse Jamuna in the morning.

Asked about the Teesta water-sharing deal, Jaishankar said, “We have a position. We have a commitment on that position. There is no change….”

He also described the Bangladesh-India relations as a model for South Asia.

The Indian external affairs minister termed National Register of Citizens (NRC) for Assam India’s internal issue.

The meeting that began at 11:10pm lasted for over one hour.

The purpose of NRC update is to identify Indian citizens from among all the residents of Assam thereby leading to identification of illegal migrants residing in Assam, who entered Indian territories after the midnight of 24th March 1971 and to determine the citizenship of the applicants.

Jaishankar who arrived in Dhaka on Monday night on a three-day official visit to Bangladesh said the two countries have many things to discuss to take the relationship between the two neighbouring countries to a higher level.

“We’ve a very good relationship. We’ve a very strong relationship. We’ve many things to discuss about taking the relationship to a higher level,” he said while talking to newsmen 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.

Momen is set to host a lunch in honour of his Indian counterpart after the meeting.

The Indian foreign minister is scheduled to meet prime minister Sheikh Hasina at her official residence around 5:00pm on Tuesday.

Indian high commissioner in Dhaka Riva Ganguly Das will host a private dinner for Jaishankar on Tuesday evening.

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 US dollars.