Sushma Swaraj in Dhaka today, Rohingya issue on table

For Dhaka, India’s help is needed not just for humanitarian assistance but also to press upon Myanmar to take back refugees and create conditions so that there is no more flight by Rohingya.

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Swaraj, who will reach Dhaka on Sunday afternoon, will lead the Indian delegation for the Joint Consultative Commission meeting at about 4.30 pm.

With External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj set to go on a two-day visit to Bangladesh on Sunday, Dhaka will be looking at increased cooperation on how to deal with the Rohingya refugee crisis. Sources told The Indian Express that Swaraj had promised all possible help to deal with the massive influx of Rohingya refugees during her 15-hour flight to New York, seated next to Bangladesh PM Sheikh Hasina last month. They had both travelled to New York from the Gulf on one flight and met in New York for a formal meeting as well.

Early October, Bangladesh Foreign Secretary Shahidul Haque had come to India to explore possibilities about the assistance India can give to deal with the situation. “India is the provider of the largest assistance in the last two months. But the refugee flow has crossed 5.5 lakh people in such a short span of two months, and it would be good if India and Bangladesh can work out ways to help the situation,” a Bangladesh diplomat told The Indian Express.

For Dhaka, India’s help is needed not just for humanitarian assistance but also to press upon Myanmar to take back refugees and create conditions so that there is no more flight by Rohingya.

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“These points will be part of the discussions when Swaraj meets Bangladesh Foreign Minister AH Mahmood Ali on Sunday,” a source said.

Swaraj, who will reach Dhaka on Sunday afternoon, will lead the Indian delegation for the Joint Consultative Commission meeting at about 4.30 pm. She is expected to call on Hasina at about 6 pm. Announcing the visit, the Ministry of External Affairs said that Swaraj is expected to meet the Bangladeshi leadership and interact with representatives of leading Bangladeshi think tanks, chambers of commerce and industry and cultural organisations.

“This is the second visit of EAM to Bangladesh and comes soon after the state visit of the Prime Minister of Bangladesh to India in April 2017. The visit is expected to afford an opportunity for review of the excellent bilateral relations between India and Bangladesh and further strengthening of these ties,” the MEA statement said.

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