As part of its global reach-out to ensure the repatriation of the Rohingya Muslim refugees, Bangladesh has sought Russia's "active and fruitful cooperation" for facilitating the reintegration and return of the Rohingyas to their homeland in Myanmar.

Bangladesh Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen raised the issue with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov at a meeting on the sidelines of the international conference on Central & South Asia: Regional Connectivity, Challenges and Opportunity in Tashkent, Uzbekistan on Friday.

The two ministers agreed to work together on the Rohingya issue, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Saturday, according to Dhaka Tribune.

Russia, the ministry said, would continue to encourage Myanmar to engage in dialogue with Bangladesh.
Bangladesh, which hosts over 1.1 million registered Rohingyas (all Myanmarese nationals forcibly displaced from their land of origin in Myanmar’s Rakhine area), is now under financial strain, having to spend nearly USD 900 million annually to maintain these refugees.
Only a day earlier, Momen had broached the Rohingya issue with his counterparts in India and China.
China and Bangladesh have agreed to work towards the repatriation of the Rohingya refugees to the Rakhine state in Myanmar and underscored the need for resuming tripartite talks on the issue, a Bangladesh government statement said.

Momen and Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi agreed to work towards the repatriation of the Rohingya refugees to the Rakhine state in Myanmar and underscored the need for resuming tripartite talks on the issue.

China had in January brokered tripartite talks – also involving Myanmar – on the Rohingya issue.

Momen also gave an overview of the Covid-19 vaccines and thanked the Russian foreign minister for standing beside Bangladesh in all difficult times, especially their direct support during the 1971 Liberation War.

The two ministers also expressed happiness at the level of the existing cooperation between Bangladesh and Russia, the ministry said.

Lavrov also expressed his country's commitment to complete the two nuclear projects in Bangladesh. Rooppur Unit-1 is scheduled to commence operations in 2023 and Rooppur Unit-2 a year later.

Russia’s Rosatom State Atomiс Energy Corporation is building nuclear projects.
 
Momen also thanked Lavrov for the gracious message sent by Russian President Vladimir Putin during the birth centenary celebrations of Bangladesh's first president and founder Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.

(SAM)