Foreign minister AK Abdul Momen on Wednesday said Bangladesh has given shelter to huge Rohingyas on humanitarian ground by opening its border and now it can tell other countries to help Rohingyas the same way.
‘At this stage, we think we’ve taken enough people (Rohingyas). So, we can also tell others to help,’ he said adding that there are 193 countries in the world that are members of the United Nations.
Momen mentioned that Bangladesh is one of the most densely populated countries and he wants to see whether the UN refugee agency - UNHCR - can convince other countries.
He came up with Bangladesh position on Rohingya issue while briefing the media on prime minister Sheikh Hasina’s visit to Germany and the United Arab Emirates at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
On February 8, the UNHCR called on the Bangladesh authorities to continue to allow people fleeing violence in Myanmar to seek safety in Bangladesh.
The UNHCR also offered its support to the government of Bangladesh to assess and respond to the needs of people who have arrived seeking safety from violence in Myanmar.
Bangladesh is now hosting around 1.3 million Rohingyas and received more than 720,000 Rohingyas from Myanmar since August 2017.
During his Bangladesh visit last year, United Nations secretary-general Antonio Guterres applauded Bangladesh for giving a safe haven to hundreds of thousands of Rohingyas driven from their homes in Myanmar by systematic and widespread violence.
‘In a world where so many borders are closed, [the people and government of Bangladesh] have opened their borders and received their brothers and sisters coming from Myanmar and from the terrible events there,’ said Guterres here before wrapping up his Bangladesh visit.
Responding to a question, Momen said they are working to find a solution to Rohingya crisis. ‘You know, we know too, where the solution got stuck.’
He said their efforts will be there to raise the issue in all discussions in international forums and they expect a wider support so that they can resolve the issue.
Referring to Albert Einstein, Momen said if problem is known, solution will not be difficult.
He said the solution will be very simple if the problem is identified correctly. ‘We’ve identified the problem. InshAllah, we’ll find out the solution, too.’
On Myanmar’s continuous attempt of instigation, the foreign minister said they sometimes instigate but this is good news that they accept it easily when Bangladesh talked about corrective measures on their propaganda.
‘It’s a good sign, very positive sign. We want to build our relationship based on these good signs,’ said Momen.
He said issues related to the Rohingya crisis and regional security will be discussed in various speaking slots kept for prime minister Sheikh Hasina and other heads of government at the Munich Security Conference 2019.
Foreign secretary M Shahidul Haque and senior officials were present at the press conference.
