Rajnath Singh meets Sheikh Hasina, discusses terror, border agreement issues

Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Saturday called on Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and the two leaders discussed issues of mutual concern, including the menace of terrorism. Singh is on a three-day visit to Dhaka. “Had an extremely fruitful meeting with the Prime Minister of Bangladesh, Sheikh Hasina in Dhaka today. We discussed a range of bilateral and regional issues of mutual interest,” Singh tweeted after the meeting at Hasina’s official residence in Dhaka “It is possible to uproot militancy and terrorism if all the countries in the region join their hands,” he told Hasina. According to a spokesperson in the Bangladesh prime minister’s office, Singh told Hasina, without naming any country, that the expected collaborative actions are not possible due to some nations in the region. During the meeting, Hasina is reported to have said that Bangladesh and India have so far settled several outstanding issues, including the land and boundary agreement, through dialogue. “We expect that other issues will be sorted out through talks as well,” Hasina said. She reiterated Bangladesh’s stand of not allowing its soil to be used for terror activities against any country. After his meeting with Hasina, Singh, along with his Bangladesh counterpart Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal, inaugurated the largest Indian visa centre in the world at Dhaka’s Jamuna Future Park mall, according to information. The integrated, state-of-the-art Indian Visa Application Centre (IVAC), spread over 18,500 square feet commercial area, will replace existing centres in Dhaka — at Motijheel, Uttara, Gulshan and Mirpur Road areas — in two phases. “The new facility would replace all four existing visa centres in different parts of the (Bangladesh) capital and it will be the lone visa centres to receive applications without any prior appointments,” the Indian High Commission in Dhaka said in a statement. Bangladeshis are among the largest number of visitors from a single country to India. Last year, India had issued 1.4 million visas to Bangladeshi nationals, according to Bangladeshi news website BD News. On Saturday, five Bangladeshi citizens were issued visas of different categories to mark the opening of the centre, which has 48 counters and other facilities, including food shops, according to the Indian High Commission’s statement. “The location of the new IVAC inside a spacious and secure shopping mall is expected to provide comfortable and seamless visa services to applicants and is expected to reduce waiting time considerably,” the statement added. During his visit, Singh will co-chair the sixth India-Bangladesh Home Minister-level talks on Sunday along with his Bangladeshi counterpart Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal. Source: The Indian Express