Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen on Tuesday expressed his optimism that Rohingyas would be able to go back to their own country Myanmar as China was working on that.
“They took good initiative,” he said while replying to a question on the recent short visit of a Chinese special envoy Deng Xijun.
The visit was not disclosed with the media.
China is a party to the tripartite arrangement with Bangladesh and Myanmar to resolve the Rohingya crisis.
Bangladesh is giving shelter to over 1.1 million Rohingyas as they fled ‘ethnic cleansing’ in the Rakhine State.
“They will go back. We are always hopeful,” the foreign minister said, adding that China would facilitate the discussion between Bangladesh and Myanmar in this regard.
He, however, did not give any specific timeframe about their return.
“We cannot say anything until it happens,” he said as there had been two botched attempts.
Foreign Secretary Masud Bin Momen is now visiting Beijing.
Since 2017, there were at least two attempts of repatriation and Chinese officials were also involved in the process.
However, not a single member of the Rohingya community in Cox's Bazar's Teknaf and Ukhiya upazilas was repatriated, as the Rohingyas said the conditions in Rakhine were not safe and there was no guarantee of citizenship after returning.
Talks between Myanmar and Bangladesh had slowed since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic in early 2020, and military takeover of Myanmar in 2021.
Meanwhile, the global pressure piled on the Myanmar junta that is accused of killing thousands of civilians fighting for the return of democracy.
On the other hand, a genocide case is ongoing with the International Court of Justice, while the US has also termed the atrocities against the Rohingyas genocide.
In December, the US Senate passed the BURMA Act to bolster support for the Myanmar democratic forces.
