Ankara Pledges Dhaka Raising Rohingya Issue at UNSC

Ankara today assured Dhaka that Turkey will raise issue of Rohingya repatriation at the next United Nations Security Council (UNSC) meeting.

The assurance was given when Bangladesh Foreign Minister Dr. AK Abdul Momen talked to his Turkish counterpart Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu on the phone, a press release from the foreign ministry in Dhaka said.

During the conversation, the Turkish foreign minister assured that his country will continue its support to Bangladesh so that forcibly displaced Rohingyas can repatriate with dignity and safety to Rakhine state, the land of origin of Myanmar’s ethnic group.

Momen urged the Turkish foreign minister to take effective steps in forming the ‘COVID-19 Recovery & Response Fund’ which was proposed by Dhaka during the last OIC’s foreign ministerial-level meeting to support migrant workers in Middle East (ME) countries.

Noting that many Bangladeshi expatriate workers are being hard-hit financially and, even in some cases, they have been starving in different countries due to coronavirus outbreak, Momen sought Turkey’s support in helping retain their jobs in ME nations during and after the pandemic.

Momen also sought Turkey’s help in advocating the ME countries so that Bangladeshi expatriate workers can get financial support equivalent to their six months’ salary if they are forced to leave their host countries.

Terming Ready-made Garment (RMG) as one of the major engines of Bangladesh economy, the foreign minister wanted Turkish support to convince European buyers not to cancel import orders from Bangladeshi RMG units.

Bangladesh Foreign Minister also proposed the establishment of a working group within D-8 to strengthen economic cooperation between D-8 member countries.

Currently, Turkey is chairing the D-8, the Organization for Economic Cooperation, also known as the Developing-8, which also included seven other countries – Bangladesh, Egypt, Nigeria, Indonesia, Iran, Malaysia, and Pakistan.

Dr Momen also expected Turkish backing so that Bangladesh can avail support from the seven trillion dollars fund, created by G-20 for the least developed countries (LDCs).

Both ministers agreed to work together on issues related to trade development and food protection during the post corona pandemic era.

The Turkish Minister shared his concern in supplying Bangladesh with one lakh surgical mask and one N-95 cap.

Source: BSS