Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen on Saturday ruled out any concern for Bangladesh amid the exclusion of nearly 2 million people from the final National Register of Citizens (NRC) for India's border state of Assam, saying Bangladesh believes in India’s assurance.
He said they raised the issue in advance when Indian External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar visited Bangladesh and had a meeting with him on August 20, reports UNB.
Dr Momen wanted to know about the issue from Jaishankar at the meeting and told him that many people are concerned about the matter in Bangladesh.
“You’ve heard…he (Jaishankar) categorically said the issue is an internal matter for India, and there’ll be no problem (for Bangladesh),” Dr Momen told reporters after attending a function in the city.
The foreign minister said the world is dynamic and there will be many incidents and they will manage those.
Quoting Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, he said, “There’ll be emerging problems and there’ll also be emerging solutions.”
Dr Momen also said he shared with the Indian External Affairs Minister about the problem Bangladesh is facing with the presence of over 1.1 million Rohingyas.
He said Bangladesh is now on the highway of development journey and there is no lack of jobs for the poor and common people, including labourers, even for those who have no education in the country.
“So, I don’t believe the people of our country will go to neigbouring countries right at the moment. If they might have gone there it was before 1971 and 1947.”
According to global media reports, India on Saturday published the final citizenship list in the state of Assam that excluded nearly 2 million people amid fears they could be rendered stateless.
The list, known as the National Register of Citizens, intends to identify legal residents and weed out illegal immigrants from the state.
A total of 31.1 million people were included in the list, leaving out 1.9 million people, according to a statement from the Assam government.