Dhaka, Bangladesh (BBN) – Myanmar has reiterated its decision to take back its citizens staying both in and outside two refugee camps and also in prisons in Bangladesh after verification of their nationality.
“Myanmar government has categorically informed us that they are ready to take back their citizens and they have the preparations to receive their documented and undocumented citizens, and sought lists of the Rohingyas for verification,” said Foreign Secretary of Bangladesh Mijarul Quayes.
Sending back of refugees means voluntary repatriation as per international law, Mr. Mijarul said while addressing a press briefing after the annual foreign secretary-level “Foreign Office Consultations” with Myanmar Deputy Foreign Minister Maung Myint on Sunday.
At the meeting the Myanmar deputy foreign minister reiterated his government’s decision to take back the Rohingya intruders, who are staying outside the camps, and detained nationals, but it wants to confirm their citizenship through verification before taking them back, the foreign secretary added.
He mentioned that around 400,000 undocumented Rohingyas are now living in Bangladesh while the number of other Myanmar citizens in prisons might be over 100.
The foreign secretary said the Myanmar side at the meeting expressed gratitude to the Bangladesh government for not opening the border and not allowing Myanmar citizens into Bangladesh during the recent sectarian violence in the northern Rakhine province because it would create fresh problems in bilateral relations.
He also said the Myanmar government has already cleared a list of 2,415 refugees out of around 29,000 in two camps to take them back, and of them, 10 families have agreed to go back voluntarily.
A nine-member delegation headed by Mr. Mijarul represented Bangladesh, while a six-member delegation headed by U Maung Myint, deputy minister of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, represented Myanmar in the 6th “Foreign Office Consultations” at Foreign Ministry in Dhaka.
He said a wide range of issues were discussed in the meeting, first of its kind after Myanmar held landmark election last year to restore democracy, and both countries were willing to resolve outstanding problems that vary from refugees to trade imbalance to border management and regional connectivity.
“We welcome the landmark change in Myanmar towards democracy and the relationship between Bangladesh and Myanmar can take a new step through reinitiating the repatriation of their refugees,” the foreign secretary noted.
The issues that figured prominently at the talks included Rohingya repatriation, formation of a joint commission at foreign minister- level, BIMSTEC, trade expansion, road, air and coastal shipping connectivity, submarine cable cooperation, import of gas and electricity from Myanmar, cooperation in the fields of agriculture, fisheries and livestock, institutionalization of Joint Border Management as with India, defence cooperation, curbing trafficking, and drugs and narcotics control.
The Bangladesh side requested the Myanmar authorities to take effective measures so that drug, especially Yaba, and arms are not smuggled into Bangladesh. Various pending trade and investment- related agreements and Memorandum of Understanding (MoUs) also came up for discussion.
Mr. Mijarul said the meeting decided to form a joint commission headed by the foreign ministers of Bangladesh and Myanmar soon.
Dhaka will send a draft structure of the commission to Yangon and the Bangladesh foreign minister will invite her Myanmar counterpart to attend its first meeting in Dhaka.
On road connectivity, the foreign secretary said the Myanmar side sought sending an inter-ministerial delegation from Bangladesh regarding construction of a 128 km road to establish direct road links between the two countries.
Bangladesh had earlier offered to construct 23 km of the road with its own funds inside Myanmar, and asked Myanmar to build the remaining 105 km of the road. Dhaka on Sunday reiterated its readiness to construct the road as per its earlier commitment.
On shipping connectivity, the foreign secretary said the two countries have already a joint committee on coastal shipping and Myanmar will send a delegation to Bangladesh to see the infrastructure facilities.
In response to Bangladesh’s proposal to import hydroelectricity, the Myanmar side said they would consider it after meeting their domestic demand and that it is not possible for them to export electricity now.
BBN/SSR/AD-02July12-12:20 pm (BST)
