Dhaka, June 19 – United Nations secretary general António Guterres and World Bank president Jim Yong Kim are due to arrive in the capital Dhaka on Wednesday on a 3-day visit that will include a trip to Rohingya settlements to see for themselves the plight of hundreds of thousands of persecuted people from Myanmar’s Rakhine state, according to officials concerned.
While in Bangladesh, both UN secretary-general and World Bank president are scheduled to meet prime minister Sheikh Hasina and other ministers concerned, they said.
The UN chief has always been vocal about the ill-treatment of Rohingyas in the hands of the Myanmar security forces, local Buddhist mobs and people from other ethnic groups, said the officials, adding that the maiden visit of Guterres will further highlight the crisis on the face of the globe.
In April, during a telephone conversation, prime minister Hasina requested the UN chief to visit Bangladesh to see the plight of the Rohingyas, they added.
Finance minister AMA Muhith said on Monday that a deal is expected to be signed between the government and World Bank in June to run a rehabilitation project for Rohingyas in Bangladesh from Myanmar.
The World Bank will provide $400-500 million as a grant, he said.
According to officials, the deal with the World Bank is likely to be signed during the visit of Jim Yong Kim. – Staff Reporter
