State Minister of Foreign Affairs M Shahriar Alam yesterday briefed OIC Secretary General Dr Yousef A Al-Othaimeen and other high officials of the OIC Secretariat on the latest position of Bangladesh on the Rohingya crisis, reports UNB. He also appreciated the role of the international community for their stand on the Rohingya issue. The state minister focused on the five-point solution proposed by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina which was placed in the UN General Assembly in September last.  A six-member Bangladesh delegation, led by Shipping Minister Shajahan Khan, is now on an official visit to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

Shahriar Alam was a member of the delegation. During the visit, the delegation met the OIC Secretary General in Jeddah, said a PID handout. Meanwhile, a resolution on this issue has already been placed in the third committee of the UN.

The junior sought supports of the international community to pass the resolution. He apprised the OIC Secretary General about the recent visit of a Senior Minister from Myanmar to Bangladesh and the visit of Bangladesh Home Minister to Myanmar.

Shahriar said since August, over 6 lakh forcefully displaced Myanmar people have taken shelter in Bangladesh as per IOM statistics and total stands at over one million, including unregistered 300,000.

In response, the OIC Secretary General mentioned that OIC contact group fact-finding team will visit Cox's Bazar this week.

He assured that OIC is always with Bangladesh on the issue of Rohingya. Shipping Minister Shajahan Khan sought supports of the OIC member states through the Secretary General in favour of the candidature of Bangladesh in the Category-B election of the IMO to be held in London in the first week of November next. During the meeting, the ministers exchanged views on various important issues, including the situation of forcibly displaced Rohingya population who took shelter in Bangladesh and to seek OIC support for Bangladesh in its re-election bid to the International Maritime Organization (IMO) Council. The Secretary General reassured OIC support in all international election that Bangladesh will participate and IMO in particular.  They will ask all member state to extend support to Bangladesh.

Dr Al-Othaimeen commended Bangladesh for its humane action hosting a large number of Rohingya refugees and assured of OIC's support to Bangladesh in all its endeavours aimed at alleviating the sufferings of this displaced ethnic minority.