Foreign Secretary Harsh Shringla on Monday said that the updation of the National Register of Citizens (NRC) is an internal matter of India and in no way affects either the Government or the people of Bangladesh.
Shringla made these comments during a seminar titled, “Bangladesh & India: A Promising Future” in Dhaka where he was on a bilateral visit to enhance the relations between the two countries.
The passage of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019 in December 2019 had led to some tensions with Bangladesh and became an irritant between the two nations, with many high- profile visits to India being cancelled. The latest such visit to be cancelled was that of the Speaker of the Bangladesh Parliament.
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Foreign Secretary Harsh Shringla who had earlier served as the Indian High Commissioner to Bangladesh, hopes to bring this friendship between the two neighbours back on track, with this visit to Dhaka.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to visit Dhaka later this month ahead of the centenary birth celebrations of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman (fondly known as Bangabandhu). This visit by the Foreign Secretary is the first step towards repairing any gap that can threaten to undo all the positive development that have been achieved till date, especially in the last decade.
The Foreign Secretary also praised the working style that has helped both nations to resolve their differences, especially, related to border disputes and other issues. It has been done with a high level of sophistication and maturity.
He also assured Bangladesh of India’s cooperation at the highest level related to its development concerns and said that India and Bangladesh’s common interests converge and this friendship will only be strengthened henceforth.
Shringla, is also considered to be a problem solver and this visit is expected to set things right between the two closely connected neighbours.