India, Bangladesh have discussed Rohingya issue periodically: Foreign secy

Vinay Kwatra further noted that there are several aspects of the Rohingyas' challenge that Bangladesh faces

India and Bangladesh have discussed the Rohingya issue periodically at different levels of interaction, Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra said on Saturday, adding that humanitarian assistance to Rohingyas is something that was offered to them in the past.

He said that India continues to work closely with Bangladesh on the issue of Rohingyas.

"The Rohingya issue was discussed. This is an issue that India and Bangladesh have discussed periodically at different levels of interaction... India has offered assistance to Bangladesh... Humanitarian assistance to Rohingyas is something that we have offered in the past. We continue to work with Bangladesh closely on that," Kwatra said in a press briefing today.

Kwatra further noted that there are several aspects of the Rohingyas' challenge that Bangladesh faces.

"Some of it also impinges on us. So those challenges also get discussed...So all this forms the spectrum of these discussions and some of the key elements of this spectrum were also discussed between the two leaders today..." the Foreign Secretary added.

India had opened its border for over 10 million Bangladeshi people to evade brutality by Pakistani military forces in the early 1970s. India was not a signatory to any international convention, yet the New Delhi government helped these refugees settle in the country and provided financial assistance.

These issues were discussed as PM Modi and his Bangladeshi counterpart Hasina held bilateral talks today.

PM Sheikh Hasina of Bangladesh is on a two-day state visit to India from June 21 to 22, marking the first foreign guest on a bilateral state visit to India after the formation of the Modi 3.0 government.