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File Photo of Foreign Minister AH Mahmood Ali
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@DhakaTribune
July 09, 2017
The Foreign Minister
made this request to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo
Grandi
Foreign Minister A H
Mahmood Ali has urged United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR) to call upon
Myanmar government to take measures to ensure that all the Myanmar nationals
staying in Bangladesh return to Rakhine State.
The minister made
the request to UNHCR Commissioner Filippo Grandi during a meeting on Saturday,
said a press release.
Grandi is currently
visiting Bangladesh and is scheduled to meet the Myanmar refugees in Cox’s
Bazar on Monday. He will leave Dhaka on 11 July.
During the meeting,
the foreign minister apprised the UNHCR commissioner of the measures taken by
Bangladesh government regarding the humanitarian assistance to Myanmar refugees
and the undocumented Myanmar nationals.
He also informed the
high commissioner about the repatriation of some 236,599 Rakhine Muslims till
2005.
A H Mahmood Ali
thanked UNHCR for providing valuable support throughout the process of
repatriation of this huge number of Myanmar nationals.
Mahmood also
expressed concern over unilateral halt of the repatriation process by Myanmar
since 2005 even though 10,820 refugees had been cleared by both countries
through verification process.
He said the constant
presence of these refugees has created a number of adverse effects on the
overall socio-economic, political, demographic, environmental, and humanitarian
and security situation of Cox’s Bazar and adjacent districts.
Grandi commended the
government for being benevolent to host a large number of Myanmar nationals for
such a long time as well as for providing the humanitarian assistance to them.
The foreign minister
assured Grandi of all sort of cooperation during his visit to Cox’s Bazar.