Momen: Rohingya situation is now untenable for Bangladesh

The Rohingya situation has become untenable for Bangladesh, Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen has said.

During a recent phone call with Irish Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Simon Coveney, he also expressed deep concern that there was no progress in repatriation of Rohingyas to Myanmar.  

Dr Momen informed  Coveney that till to date Myanmar had not taken a single Rohingyas back and urged EU countries to exert more pressure on Naypyitaw so that it takes its nationals back.

The EU countries should step forward and share the responsibility, he said

Bangladesh has shown extraordinary generosity in hosting a huge number of persecuted Rohingyas from Myanmar, said the Irish Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister.

He highly lauded Bangladesh’s humane gesture in hosting 1.1 million persecuted Rohingyas from Myanmar.

“Bangladesh has played a very significant role in extending temporary shelter to this huge number of Rohingyas, a number almost equivalent to a quarter of the population of Ireland,” he added.

Dr Momen thanked his Irish counterpart for their continued support on the Rohingya issue and hoped that if elected as a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, Ireland will play a more robust role in the Council. 

The Irish Deputy Prime Minister assured Ireland’s continued support and active engagement in this regard.

The Irish Minister also applauded the leadership role of Bangladesh in UN peacekeeping and expressed willingness to work jointly in this area.

Dr Momen informed his counterpart about the availability of a huge pool of IT experts (6,00,000) whose expertise could be used by Ireland. He also requested the Irish government to ease and facilitate visa procedures for Bangladesh nationals.

The foreign minister expressed concern that amid Covid-19, many foreign buyers are dishonouring their contracts. Such irresponsible behaviour by foreign companies is adversely affecting 4 million RMG workers in Bangladesh most of whom are women. He requested Irish companies to honour their contract.