Rohingya repatriation to dominate Dhaka- Naypyidaw talks

The Daily Star

July 11, 2013

Repatriation of Rohingya refugees, among other matters, will dominate the Foreign Office Consultations (FOC) scheduled for June 14 in Naypyidaw, capital of Myanmar.

Security, trade and investment, cooperation between the countries’ border guards, connectivity and import of gas and electricity will also be discussed.

Foreign Secretary Md Shahidul Haque, who leaves for Myanmar tonight, will lead the Bangladesh delegation at the 7th FOC, foreign secretary level annual meeting, between Bangladesh and Myanmar.

Foreign ministry sources said discussions will cover the entire range of bilateral issues between the two neighbours, which include resolving all pending issues, pending visit of the Myanmar president to Bangladesh, direct road link and direct air services and coastal shipping line, cooperation in energy sector and curbing of border smuggling.

Among pending issues, early activation of joint commission and joint trade commission, cooperation in agriculture, fisheries and livestock sectors, training exchange programmes and prevention of illicit trafficking will also be discussed, said sources.

Officials said with the reform initiatives in Myanmar, Bangladesh is eager to intensify engagement with the country to explore trade and investment options.

Major countries, like the USA, Japan and South Korea are already in Myanmar and Bangladesh being a neighbour should try to engage with Myanmar by utilising the existing mechanisms between the two countries, they said.

On Rohingya refugees, a senior official of the foreign ministry told The Daily Star that Dhaka will seek solutions to the problem and ask Naypyidaw to take back all Myanmar refugees as well as undocumented nationals living in Bangladesh.

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