Redwan Ahmed
Amid heavy pressure from the international community, Bangladesh expects signing a bilateral Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Myanmar on Rohingya repatriation.
The governments are expected to sign an ‘Arrangement on Return of Displaced Persons from Rakhine State’ in Nay Pyi Daw today. However, the issues of the proposed MoU are still undecided as yet. Bangladesh’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, AH Mahmood Ali, and Kywa Tint Swe, Myanmar’s Minister for the Office of the State, will hold a dialogue at the Nay Pyi Daw’s State Counsellor’s office today.Earlier yesterday, the government officials of the both nations had several meetings where they discussed various issues of bilateral interest and the Rohingya crisis. Bangladesh demands a specific timeframe in the repatriation agreement with the involvement of the United Nations and other international organisations, according to foreign ministry officials.“We had a good discussion today (Wednesday). We hope to sign the deal tomorrow (Thursday),” The Bangladeshi Foreign Minister Ali told UNB after a meeting with his Myanmar counterpart.
Higher officials think that it is important to clearly negotiate the number of Rohingyas to be repatriated. They referred to the last visit of the home minister to Myanmar. Both states agreed on a 10-point plan, but at the end of the visit Myanmar changed the plan without informing Bangladesh.
Diplomats consider a strong agreement essential for repatriation of Rohingyas. If one million is not clearly stated, then Myanmar will not mention this in the future.Foreign Secretary M Shahidul Haque, Bangladesh Ambassador in Yangon M Sufiur Rahman and representatives from Home Ministry and Prime Minister’s Office also attended the meeting.
Sources: UNB news agency, The daily Prothom Alo