Ministry of External Affairs gave information from the issue of three Indians missing in Iran to PM's US visit

The Ministry of External Affairs said that three Indian citizens are missing in Iran and India has seriously raised this issue with Tehran. The ministry also said that India and the US are working together on Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to the US and the extradition of terrorist Tahawwur Hussain Rana.

Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said that the matter of missing Indian citizens has been raised with the Iranian Embassy in Delhi and the Iranian Foreign Ministry in Tehran. He said that the Ministry of External Affairs and the Indian Embassy in Tehran are in touch with the Iranian authorities and have requested their assistance in locating the missing citizens and ensuring their safety.

Jaiswal said that India and the US are working on Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to the US soon to further strengthen the comprehensive global strategic partnership. The dates of PM Modi's visit will be announced at the appropriate time. PM Modi and US President Donald Trump had a phone conversation on January 27. This was their first phone conversation after Trump's swearing-in last week. The spokesperson said that India is working closely with US authorities for the early extradition of Mumbai terror attack accused terrorist Tahawwur Hussain Rana. The US Supreme Court rejected Rana's review petition on January 21. After this, the way for his extradition to India was cleared.

Foreign Ministry spokesperson Jaiswal said that Director General (DG) level talks between India's Border Security Force (BSF) and Bangladesh's Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) will be held in New Delhi from February 17 to 20. The talks will focus on border-related issues as well as respecting mutually agreed Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) and agreements. On January 22, the BSF and BGB held a sector commander-level coordination meeting at the Sonamasjid border post in Bangladesh. According to the BSF South Bengal Frontier, the meeting aimed to ensure peace and cooperation on the India-Bangladesh border.

The spokesperson also expressed concern over the ongoing conflict in some parts of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). He said that about 25,000 Indian citizens live in the DRC. About 1,000 of them are in the conflict-affected city of Goma. However, most of them have moved to safer places. Our embassy has issued an advisory and has also provided helpline numbers so that if anyone has any problem, they can contact them immediately.

Jaiswal said that India has lodged a strong protest with Sri Lanka over the recent incident of detention and firing on Indian fishermen. Two Indian fishermen from Karaikal were injured in the firing by the Sri Lankan Navy in the Jaffna Sea. After this, India lodged a strong protest against the firing of the Sri Lankan Navy. The Ministry of External Affairs also summoned the acting High Commissioner of Sri Lanka in Delhi to register a protest over this incident.