While we have seen some progress towards the repatriation of the Rohingya refugees, most have been nothing more than discussions and theoretical demonstrations assessing what could happen after repatriation.
However, such slow progress presents a number of challenges, especially for Bangladesh, which has been put in the unfair position of having to look after a million-plus refugees.
As such, what needs to be done has never been clearer: All stakeholders involved must take decisive action to speed up the repatriation of the Rohingya, and this has to be done as soon as possible.
FDI from foreign companies is pouring into this region. However, unless steps are taken to repatriate the Rohingya back to Myanmar, the crisis threatens to spiral out of control and destabilize the region at large, and it is already apparent due to the rise of a number of resistance and militant outfits in the camps. Such a crisis also acts as a breeding ground for illegal operations such as narcotics trade, which not only poses a threat to the region but also the safety of the Rohingya refugees.
The world cannot dally on this issue any longer.
More needs to be done so that peace can be restored in the region -- to that end, countries which are interested in the business prospects of countries like Bangladesh have a large part to play.
It is simply unfair that a growing economy such as ours has to bear the consequences of another country's genocidal tendencies, but the Rohignya repatriation process needs to be expedited not just for the sake of Bangladesh but for the region at large. To that end, cooperation will be key.