Myanmar's Foreign Minister Than Swe has expressed a positive response on starting the Rohingya repatriation process.
This statement was made during a bilateral meeting with Bangladesh's Foreign Minister Hasan Mahmud, at the second retreat of foreign ministers from the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) in New Delhi.
Hasan reminded his counterpart that Myanmar has long claimed willingness to repatriate the forcibly displaced Rohingya currently sheltered in Bangladesh, but visible progress has yet to be seen.
"Only by initiating the repatriation process can Myanmar uphold its commitment," Hasan said.
Than Swe reiterated Myanmar's intention to begin repatriation soon after internal discussions.
On the final day of the retreat, the foreign ministers of BIMSTEC also had a courtesy meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The meeting took place at the Prime Minister's residence, Panchavati, on Kalyan Marg.
Participants included foreign ministers from Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, and Thailand, along with Nepal’s Foreign Secretary.
Prime Minister Modi exchanged pleasantries and held a brief discussion with the ministers before a photo session.
The retreat focused on strengthening the BIMSTEC process, with discussions on various strategies for regional cooperation.
Hasan Mahmud also had a side meeting with India’s Foreign Minister, S Jaishankar, to discuss maintaining the import facilities for essential goods and sending a technical team for the Teesta project.
