Bangladesh has called on the international community to take more active role in ensuring the safe and dignified return of Rohingya refugees to Myanmar.
Speaking at the 26th Commonwealth Foreign Affairs Ministers Meeting at Lancaster House in London on Sunday, Foreign Minister Khalilur Rahman urged global leaders to intensify efforts to resolve the prolonged Rohingya crisis.
The meeting brought together representatives from the 56 member states of the Commonwealth of Nations.
During his speech, Khalilur Rahman highlighted the heavy burden Bangladesh continues to shoulder by hosting more than 1.2 million Rohingya refugees who fled persecution in Myanmar.
He warned that new arrivals are still crossing into Bangladesh while humanitarian assistance for the refugees has been gradually declining.
The foreign minister stressed the need for sustained international engagement to create conditions that would allow the Rohingya people to return safely and with dignity to their homeland.
The Minister also urged the global community to adopt concrete and effective measures to address pressing global challenges, including climate change and growing economic uncertainty.
The Bangladesh delegation at the meeting was led by Khalilur Rahman and included the Prime Minister’s Foreign Affairs Adviser Humayun Kabir, along with other senior officials.
Participants at the conference also discussed the agenda and priorities for the upcoming Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, scheduled to be held in November. The meeting further addressed concerns about the current global situation, including violations of established international rules and norms.
During his remarks, Khalilur Rahman said he was proud to attend the conference as a genuine representative of the people and thanked the Commonwealth Secretariat for sending a high-level observer mission to monitor the 13th National Parliament elections for acknowledging their successful completion.
On the sidelines of the conference, the minister and the Prime Minister’s adviser held several bilateral meetings with international counterparts. In talks with, the United Kingdom’s Secretary of State, the two sides discussed a range of bilateral issues and future areas of cooperation.
He also held official meetings with several heads of delegations from different countries, including Robert Oliphant, Parliamentary Secretary of Canada; Alvin Botes, Deputy Minister of International Relations and Cooperation of South Africa; Chet Greene, Foreign Minister of Antigua and Barbuda; and Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, Foreign Minister of Ghana.
During these meetings, the foreign minister sought support from partner countries for Bangladesh’s candidacy for the presidency of the United Nations General Assembly.
