Foreign minister to visit Myanmar November 19
Foreign Minister AH Mahmood Ali will visit Myanmar next month to attend the 13th Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) to be held in the country's capital.
The ASEM Foreign Ministerial Meeting will be held in Nay Pyi Taw on November 20-21 where the Rohingya issue will come up for discussion, a diplomatic source told UNB.
The Foreign Minister is likely to leave for the Myanmar on November 19.
The ASEM is an intergovernmental forum for dialogue and cooperation which fosters political dialogue, reinforces economic cooperation and promotes collaboration in other areas of mutual interest.
The European Union on Monday said they intend to seize the opportunity at the meeting to engage in a constructive dialogue with the Myanmar government and will also continue to liaise with all Asian partners on current issues.
The EU also encouraged its partners in Asean and the region to engage in this process.
Meanwhile, Japanese Minister for Foreign Affairs Taro Kono is likely to arrive here on a two-day visit on November 18.
He will also join the ASEM meeting after his less than 24-hour stay in Bangladesh, said the source.
Bangladesh will discuss issues of mutual interest, including the Rohingya crisis, during the visit.
Besides, Indian External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj is scheduled to arrive here on October 23 to attend a joint consultative commission meeting between Bangladesh and India, a senior official told UNB.
She will co-chair the meeting that will review the entire bilateral relation with her Bangladesh counterpart AH Mahmood Ali, a senior official said.
On October 5, Bangladesh and India discussed the Rohingya issue in details in New Delhi and shared their respective positions over it as Dhaka wants the sustainable return of all the Rohingyas to their homeland.
Foreign Secretary M Shahidul Haque met his Indian counterpart S Jaishankar and discussed the issue apart from other bilateral ones.
Around 580,000 Rohingyas have crossed the border from Myanmar's Rakhine state to Bangladesh since August 25, according to UN estimates.
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