UN chief Guterres to visit Bangladesh in mid-March

The United Nations Secretary General (UNSG) Antonio Guterres is expected to visit Bangladesh in mid-March and meet the Rohingyas in camps in Cox’s Bazar.

The United Nations (UN) Special Envoy on Myanmar, Julie Bishop, revealed this information when she called on Bangladesh Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus at the State Guest House Jamuna here on Sunday (February 23).

During the meeting, they discussed the Rohingya crisis and explored fresh ways to resolve it and mobilise new donors for humanitarian assistance for more than a million forcibly displaced Rohingyas living in the camps in Bangladesh’s southeast.

Prof Yunus said the United Nations would hold an international conference on the Rohingya crisis later this year, and he urged Julie Bishop, a former acting Prime Minister of Australia, to play a central role in the major meeting.

“Your role will be crucial,” the Chief Adviser said, adding that Malaysia and Finland have agreed to become co-facilitators of the conference.

Prof Yunus also sought the support of the UN Special Envoy to help ease the humanitarian crisis in the civil war-wracked Rakhine state and to prevent the influx of new refugees fleeing Western Myanmar.

During the meeting, they also discussed mobilising more donors for the Rohingya refugees after uncertainty over the new direction in the US foreign policy.

Bishop stressed the need to make the UN international conference on Rohingya a major success, as it would be crucial to resolve the decade-long crisis sustainably.