Mr. Mark Lowcock , the Under Secretary General of the UN Office for the Coordination of the Humanitarian Affairs (UN OCHA) and the Emergency Relief Coordinator and Mr. Anthony Lake, the Executive Director of UNICEF jointly called on the Hon’ble Foreign Minister of Bangladesh A. H.Mahmood Ali MP in his office today. Both of them have just returned from Cox’s bazar after visiting the camps where the forcibly displaced Myanmar Nationals have been taking shelter.
The OCHA and the UNICEF heads thanked the Government and the people of Bangladesh for giving shelter to the helpless Rohingyas of Myanmar and deeply appreciated Bangladesh’s humanity and generosity. They have also informed about the initiatives of UN to raise funds to cover the increasing humanitarian needs.

The Foreign Minister briefed them about the current situation regarding influx of Rohingyas and apprised that more than 500,000 Rohingyas have entered Bangladesh in just one month. He also mentioned the presence of over 900,000 forcibly displaced Myanmar nationals is creating serious humanitarian challenge for Bangladesh.

Referring to the recent visit of the Mr. U Kyaw Tint Swe, Union Minister of the State Counselor’s Office of Myanmar on 02 October,the Foreign Minister informed that Bangladesh has emphasized the importance of sustainable return of the Rohingyas to Myanmar. He also informed that the Myanmar Minister conveyed their willingness to take back the Myanmar nationals taking shelter in Bangladesh. The Foreign Minister solicited support from the UN to ensure return of these forcibly displaced Myanmar nationalsto their homeland in Myanmar.

The Foreign Minister thanked the UNICEF head and the USG of UNOCHA for the useful discussion.