Foreign Minister AH Mahmood Ali leaves here for Moscow on Sunday on a two-day visit when Rohingya issue is expected to come up prominently as Dhaka wants to seek Moscow’s support to resolve the protracted crisis.
Mahmood Ali will hold official talks with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov on Monday and discuss on the key issues of bilateral and global agenda, an official told UNB.
During the meeting, the Rohingya crisis will come up prominently and Dhaka will seek Moscow’s support to resolve it, officials said.
Some 700,000 Rohingyas have taken shelter in Bangladesh since last August following an army crackdown that the United Nations has likened to ethnic cleansing.
On January 16, Bangladesh and Myanmar signed a document on ‘Physical Arrangement’ which will facilitate the return of Rohingyas to their homeland from Bangladesh but there is no significant progress over repatriation.
The ‘Physical Arrangement’ stipulates that the repatriation will be completed preferably within two years from the start of repatriation but no repatriation is taken place so far.
On March 28, Bangladesh Ambassador to Russia Dr S M Saiful Hoque met Deputy Foreign Minister Igor Morgulov and discussed preparations for the working visit which is taking place at the invitation of Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.
The Russian Foreign Ministry says the two ministers will review the current state of Russia-Bangladesh relations, the prospects for promoting political dialogue and ties in trade, economic, cultural and other practical areas, as well as ways to improve the bilateral treaty and legal framework.
With regard to the international and regional agendas, they will focus specifically on expanding cooperation in international organisations, primarily the UN and its specialised agencies.
