Foreign Minister Dr Ak Abdul Momen stressed the need for direct flights to Indonesia and visa on arrival for Bangladeshis in a recent meeting with his Indonesian counterpart, Retno Marsudi, in Jakarta, the foreign ministry has said.
Momen attended the 30th Asean Regional Forum (ARF) in Jakarta, according to a ministry statement issued on Tuesday.
On the sidelines, he met the Indonesian minister, seeking support for the repatriation of Rohingyas living in Bangladesh.
Apprising Marsudi of the current progress of bilateral engagements on Rohingya repatriation, Momen requested Indonesia, as the current chair of Asean, to play a more proactive role by involving the Asean Coordinating Centre for Humanitarian Assistance to expedite a speedy, safe dignified and voluntary repatriation of the forcibly displaced people to Myanmar.
He also solicited strong support from Indonesia by influencing other Asean member states to reach a consensus in favour of Bangladesh's candidacy for attaining the Sectoral Dialogue Partner (SDP) status of Asean in the bloc's next summit, to be held in September.
He also invited the Indonesian foreign minister to visit Bangladesh at a mutually convenient time.
