External Affairs Ministry today informed that thirteen foreign nationals have lost their lives in the recent Malviya Nagar fire tragedy in Delhi. Replying to media queries in New Delhi, Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said, out of them, one person was from Mozambique, four from Nigeria, one from Liberia, three from Kyrgyzstan, one from Uzbekistan, one from Bangladesh, one from Congo and one from Iraq.
On India-Russia ties, the spokesperson said, defence ties between Russia and India are strong and have been ongoing for years.
On trade agreement between India and the US, Mr Jaiswal said, the chief negotiator from the US side, along with his team, was in India from 1st to 4th of this month. He said, the conversations have been positive and constructive.
Replying to another query, Mr Jaiswal said that so far this year, one thousand and 76 Indian citizens have been deported from the US, whereas the figure stood at three thousand 567 last year. He said, discussions regarding migration and mobility are underway between the two sides. He added that the focus is on how to crack down on and curb illegal migration, while ensuring that this does not adversely affect legal migration.
On foreign nationals in India, the spokesperson said, there are laws to deal with people living in the country illegally. He said that as far as the deportation of Bangladeshi illegal nationals is concerned, there is a bilateral mechanism in place and India refers these cases to the Bangladeshi side for them to verify the nationality of these people. Once it is verified, the deportation process is taken forward. The spokesperson informed that many of these requests are still pending with the Bangladeshi side.
