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OIC Ministerial Meet

Dhaka pushes refugee issue

Tables proposals to resolve crisis

BSS, Dhaka
The First International Ministerial Conference on Refugees in the Muslim World began in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, yesterday with Foreign Minister Dipu Moni heading a Bangladesh delegation to it.
The two-day meeting is the first of its kind under the aegis of the OIC (Organization of Islamic Cooperation) where UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is one of the co-organisers. The meeting is expected to focus on the issue of the overwhelming number of Muslim refugees and most of them being hosted in the Muslim countries, amidst a myriad of the host countries' domestic challenges.
During the first session, Dipu Moni in her statement highlighted the issue of Myanmar refugees being hosted in Bangladesh for the last two decades despite Bangladesh's not being a party to the 1951 Refugee Convention or the 1967 Protocol.
She put forward some concrete proposals to address the issues. Many delegations acknowledged and appreciated the points made by the foreign minister in their follow-up statements.
The proposals include the necessity of international dialogue and engagement with non-OIC countries; addressing the root causes of protracted refugee situation; and strengthening the principle of international bur-den-sharing — considering the shrinking global space
for asylum and a growing trend of asylum fatigue.
She also mentioned that the refugee problem imposes disproportionately heavy burden on host countries, who generally belong to the under developed country category or least developed countries (LDCs) like Bangladesh.
The foreign minister underscored engaging the host countries in decisionmaking and gap analysis relating to refugee protection, and stressed that their financial and associated economic contributions should be accounted for in the "official” discourse on protection.
Urging the UNHCR to take the lead role, Dipu Moni opined that the OIC could be a political partner in that dialogue.
COOPERATION OF TURKMENISTAN SOUGHT
On the sidelines of the meeting, Dipu Moni met her Turkmen counterpart, Rashid Meredov, when issues like cooperation in the energy, textile and agricultural sectors were dis-
cussed during the meeting.
Bangladesh also proposed for a conclusion of an MoU that guarantees an assured supply of cotton from Turkmenistan.
This was the first ever meeting between the for-eign ministers of Bangladesh and Turkmenistan.
Both the foreign ministers agreed to further explore avenues for strengthening the bilateral relations. The two ministers also agreed to work towards formalising the process of consultation between the two ministers on various issues.
It was agreed that visits at higher levels should take place to strengthen the relations.
Dipu Moni also sought support from Turkmenistan for Bangladesh's candidature in the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) membership for 2016-17. The Turkmen foreign minister assured that his government would consider the request.