Rohingya repatriation: India stresses constructive approach

Published: October 26, 2017 18:01:05 | Updated: October 26, 2017 22:22:21

Indian Foreign Secretary S. Jaishankar. Photo credit: AP

Indian Foreign Secretary Dr. S Jaishankar has said a ‘constructive approach’ is required to send back Rohingyas who crossed into Bangladesh to flee persecution in their home state of Rakhine in Myanmar.

Dr. Jaishankar said this today (Thursday) while speaking at an event in New Delhi on prospects of India-Japan cooperation in the Bay of Bengal and Asia-Pacific regions.

Terming Rohingya exodus a matter of concern, Dr. Jaishankar said the objective should be to see how Rohingya people return to their homeland, even though the departure would not be easy.

“We are talking to Bangladesh and separately engaged with Myanmar and we feel that this is a situation better addressed with practical measures and constructive conversation, rather than doing very strong condemnations and having checked the condemnation- box, move to the next issue”, he said.