Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus on Monday joined an international dialogue in Cox’s Bazar aimed at finding sustainable solutions to the Rohingya crisis.
He arrived at Hotel Bay Watch in the morning, according to state-run news agency BSS. Earlier in the day, Yunus flew from Dhaka to Cox’s Bazar on a Biman Bangladesh Airlines flight.
The Chief Adviser is scheduled to formally inaugurate the event titled “Stakeholders’ Dialogue: Takeaways to the High-Level Conference on the Rohingya Situation.” The three-day dialogue began on Sunday and will conclude on Tuesday.
Diplomats, international experts, academics from different countries, global organizations, and representatives of the Rohingya community are taking part in the discussions.
Foreign Secretary Asad Alam Siam said the recommendations and outcomes of the dialogue will be presented at the UN high-level conference on the Rohingya situation, to be held on September 30.
“One key feature of this dialogue is the direct participation of Rohingya refugees. They will share their hopes, frustrations, and expectations for the future,” he added.
Monday also marks eight years since the mass exodus of Rohingyas from Myanmar’s Rakhine state into Bangladesh began in 2017, following a brutal military crackdown.
Within months of the crisis, more than 750,000 Rohingyas fled to Ukhiya and Teknaf in Cox’s Bazar, joining some 400,000 others who had already taken shelter in the camps.
The United Nations had described the atrocities against the Rohingyas as a “textbook example of ethnic cleansing,” while the United States later recognized it as genocide.
Today, vast areas of Cox’s Bazar and Ukhiya are dotted with makeshift shelters made of bamboo and plastic sheets, with Kutupalong becoming the world’s largest refugee camp.
