External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on Thursday called on Myanmar President U Win Myint for talks on key bilateral and regional topics, including the ongoing Rohingya refugee crisis, PTI reported.
Swaraj arrived in Nay Pyi Taw on Thursday for a two-day visit and was received by India’s ambassador Vikram Misri and Permanent Secretary of Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Myanmar U Myint Thu.
In December, India sanctioned $25 million (Rs 168 crore) for the development of the northwestern province of Rakhine. On Wednesday, India sent its second relief consignment to Bangladesh to help the displaced Rohingyas, PTI reported.
More than 6,70,000 Rohingyas, a mainly Muslim minority group, have fled Rakhine since August following a violent crackdown by the country’s security forces. They have been denied citizenship in Myanmar and are classified as illegal immigrants. The refugees have accused the troops of rape, torture, arson and murder. The United Nations has called the violence an attempt at “ethnic cleansing”.