Bangladeshi Foreign Minister Presses Myanmar to Fulfill Rohingya Repatriation Pledge

In a meeting with his Burmese counterpart, Bangladeshi Foreign Minister Hasan Mahmud urged Myanmar to honor its promise of repatriating Rohingya refugees living in overcrowded camps in Cox’s Bazar, Anadolu Agency reported yesterday.

The two diplomats met on the sidelines of the BIMSTEC (Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation) meeting in New Delhi, India. According to a statement from the Bangladeshi Foreign Ministry, Mahmud told Myanmar’s Foreign Minister Than Swe that “Myanmar can only set a precedent to keep its promise when the repatriation process starts.”

Mahmud complained that there were “no signs” of Myanmar’s repatriation plans as previously promised to Bangladesh. The majority of the 1.2 million Rohingya fled a brutal military crackdown in Myanmar’s Rakhine state in 2017, with most now housed in overcrowded camps in Cox’s Bazar. Since late 2020, around 35,000 Rohingya have also been relocated to the island of Bhasan Char.

In response, Than Swe “positively reiterated his intention to begin repatriation as soon as possible,” according to the readout from Dhaka. The two ministers had last discussed the Rohingya issue in January on the sidelines of a summit by the Non-Aligned Movement in Uganda.

With the Rohingya crisis entering its seventh year, Bangladesh has repeatedly pressed Myanmar to create conditions conducive for the safe and voluntary return of the refugees. This latest high-level meeting underscores Bangladesh’s continued efforts to find a durable solution to one of the world’s most protracted displacement crises.