Treatment of minorities in Bangladesh matter of concern, says Jaishankar

The treatment of minorities in Bangladesh is a matter of concern for India and New Delhi hopes that Dhaka will take action for their safety, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said in the Lok Sabha on Friday.

The minister said India hopes that the new dispensation in Bangladesh will settle down to a mutually beneficial stable relationship with India.

Jaishankar said treatment of minorities in Bangladesh has been a source of concern as there have been multiple incidents of attacks on them.

"We have drawn their attention to our concerns. Recently foreign secretary visited Dhaka. This subject came up in his meetings. And it is our expectation that in its own interests, Bangladesh will take action for the safety of minorities," he said during the Question Hour.

The minister said India has a good history of development projects in Bangladesh.

"In fact when we speak about the neighbourhood first policy, almost every neighbouring country with the exception of Pakistan and China, we have had important development projects and that is the case with Bangladesh as well," he said.