Japan will seize any opportunity to resolve Rohingya crisis for regional stability: envoy
Japanese Ambassador to Bangladesh Naoki Ito said Japan will seize the opportunity to find a "long-term and lasting solution" to the Rohingya crisis with Myanmar, noting that the issue is very pertinent to the future stability of the entire region.
"What we can say right now is Japan will seize the opportunity to raise this very, very important issue with the Myanmar side and its military whenever appropriate," he said.
The Japanese envoy said his country will do its best to create an enabling environment for the early repatriation of Rohingyas and continue to raise the issue with the Myanmar side whenever appropriate.
He was responding to a question at a virtual dialogue titled "Bangladesh-Japan Relations: Prognosis for the Future" where he delivered the keynote speech.
Cosmos Foundation, the philanthropic arm of the Cosmos Group, hosted the dialogue as a part of its ongoing Ambassador's Lecture Series.
Cosmos Foundation Chairman Enayetullah Khan delivered the opening remarks. The session was chaired by renowned scholar-diplomat and former Advisor on Foreign Affairs of Bangladesh Caretaker Government Dr Iftekhar Ahmed Chowdhury.
Md Abul Kalam Azad, Special Envoy, Climate Vulnerable Forum; Hayakawa Yuho, Chief Representative, JICA Bangladesh Office; Dr Salehuddin Ahmed, former Governor, Bangladesh Bank; Prof Masaaki Ohashi, Professor, University of the Sacred Heart, Tokyo; Manzurul Huq, Columnist, writer and academic; Prof Takahara Akio, Dean, Graduate School of Public Policy, the University of Tokyo and Ambassador (retd) Tariq A Karim, Honorary Advisor Emeritus, Cosmos Foundation participated in the panel.
Ambassador Ito said humanitarian assistance and humanitarian crises are very much part of their vision when they talk about the stability and peace of the South Asian region.
He said it is very difficult to predict what is going to happen in Myanmar right now in light of the current situation since the February 1 military coup brought the country to a standoff.
"There's no clear picture in which direction Myanmar is moving right now. Now nobody can have a really clear-cut prospect for the situation," he said, emphasizing the need for having a very "comprehensive and inclusive" platform to deal with the situation.
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