Bangladesh has again asked for India's support for the early repatriation of hundreds of thousands of Rohingyas, who have taken refuge in Bangladesh after escaping brutal persecution in Myanmar.
“We are concerned about the Rohingya issue. In the past, we have tried for many times so that a resolution [on repatriation] can get a passage in the UN Security Council.
"However, we failed because of reservation from some permanent members. Now we are seeking India’s support,” Foreign Secretary Masud Bin Momen said on Wednesday.
He made the remarks while talking to reporters after a meeting with his Indian counterpart Harsh Vardhan Shringla at Pan Pacific Sonargaon Hotel in Dhaka in the afternoon.
Shringla arrived in the capital on Tuesday to warm up Indo-Bangla relations and met with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in the evening.
Masud said India recently received non-permanent membership of the United Nations Security Council and will sit at the council on January 1 next year.
Bangladesh sought India’s support in Rohingya repatriation as India has bilateral relation with Myanmar and it is also providing infrastructural support there to building infrastructures needed after Rohingyas are repatriated.
“We requested them so that they persuade Myanmar for speedy repatriation,” said Masud. "And we also asked for their support in discussions on Rohingyas which will be raised at United Nation Security Council meetings."
The foreign secretary expected that India will speak on behalf of Bangladesh at those meetings.
Bangladesh currently hosts more than one million Rohingya refugees in several camps in Cox's Bazar.
