India-US Strengthen Ties, Discuss Extradition, Migration & Global Security

The External Affairs Ministry yesterday said that India and the US are working on an early visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the US to further deepen the India-US Comprehensive Global Strategic Partnership. Briefing the media in New Delhi last evening, Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said specific dates for the visit will be announced at the appropriate time. 

Replying to a query on the extradition of Mumbai terror attack convict Tahawwur Rana, the spokesperson informed that the US Supreme Court declined to hear a petition from the accused on January 21. He said that India is now working with the US side on procedural issues for the early extradition of the accused in the Mumbai terror attack to India. Replying to a query on de-dollarization, the spokesperson said BRICS takes decisions after consensus, and External Affairs Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar has already made it clear that India has no such strategy.

On the issue of illegal migrants, the spokesperson stressed that India is firmly opposed to illegal migration, especially as it is also linked to other forms of organised crime. He added that as part of India-US cooperation on migration and mobility, both sides are engaged in a process to deter illegal migration while also creating more avenues for legal migration from India to the US. He said India is keen to continue this cooperation. 

He further stated that, at the same time, New Delhi would need to do the required verification, including nationality checks, of the concerned individuals before they are deported to India. On three Indian nationals missing in Iran, Mr. Jaiswal said that the ministry is in regular touch with the families of the missing persons. They reportedly travelled for business purposes, and their families lost contact



with them shortly after their arrival in Iran. 

The matter has been raised with the Iranian Embassy in Delhi and with the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Tehran. Mr. Jaiswal added that the External Affairs Ministry and the Embassy of India in Tehran remain in touch with Iranian authorities and have requested their assistance in locating the missing nationals and ensuring their safety.

On the current situation in Congo, the spokesperson said India remains concerned about the deteriorating security situation. He called for a peaceful resolution of the conflict and said that the Indian Embassy in Kinshasa has issued advisories for Indians living in the Goma area where the conflict has taken place. There are about one thousand Indian nationals living in Goma. 

Mr. Jaiswal informed that most of them have moved to safer places since the outbreak of the conflict. The embassy remains in regular touch with the community for their welfare and safety. There are around one thousand two hundred Indian troops serving in the country as part of the United Nations MONUSCO peacekeeping mission. The ministry is in regular touch with the UN on the evolving situation in Congo.

Mr. Jaiswal informed that the DG-level talks between the Border Security Force (BSF) and Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) are scheduled from February 17 to 20 in New Delhi, during which border-related issues are proposed to be discussed. He said that New Delhi expects all mutually agreed MOUs and agreements to be honoured. He added that these form the basis for structured engagements between the border-guarding forces and facilitate the creation of mutually beneficial security and trade infrastructure along the border.