The illegal immigration by Rohingyas is a major security threat for the region as well for the country, said a top Union Ministry External Affairs (MEA) official during first ‘Videsh Sampark’ outreach event in Agartala on Monday, organized by MEA and Tripura government.

The first ‘Videsh Sampark’ seminar held in collaboration with the state government at the State Guest House, the authorities discussed a range of issues relating to passport services, opportunities and challenges in trade and investments and emigration, among others.

Speaking at the event, Ankan Banerjee, a joint secretary in the MEA, termed infiltration by the Rohingya people into Tripura and the rest of the Northeast as a security threat and claimed that the government wanted to push the Rohingya back.

“It is a very serious issue. They are in Haryana and Jammu and large numbers in Hyderabad. They are stateless people, very poor people. They are also security threats,” he said.

Altogether 34 Bangladesh nationals including a few Rohingyas  with no valid travel documents were arrested in the last 48 hours in three different places of  Tripura and the infiltration is now unabated.

 Banerjee said that the infiltration issue is being discussed at the highest level and the government will take more stringent measures to put a stop to the infiltration by Bangladeshi and Rohingyas.

The government is trying to prevent infiltration and it is a constant endeavour and is also trying to stop it but it is a large border and will strengthen the border security, said Banerjee.

Asked about the recent spurt in infiltration, Dr P K Chakravarty, secretary in the Home department of Tripura said the state government and the Border Security Force (BSF) had already discussed the issue.

Earlier, Chakravarty talked about Videsh Sampark, “The main objective of the programme is to connect with the state government about the MEA’s programme and schemes, migration and mobility, trade and investment opportunity and has also discussed the state-specific issues that the state government face from time to time.”

Later, Ankan Banerjee  said that MEA is trying to bring the state and central governments in one platform through this programme. The main target of the programme is dispensation of government services at its best ways.

Banerjee also said he got a suggestion during the meeting to create a digital platform for exchanging information on prisoners in foreign countries. He said that the problem of labour issues in foreign countries could be solved through effective coordination between state and central governments.

The official also said that Videsh Sampark could be helpful for the Indian diaspora belonging to Tripura.

Apart from Home Secretary Dr PK Chakravarty and DGP (Intelligence) Anrag Dhankar and many other state and central government officials attended the programme.