Bangladesh and Myanmar at a technical level discussion on Thursday expressed readiness to continue working closely to address the reasons causing delay in the verification of the past residency of the displaced people in Rakhine.

The first ever meeting of the newly formed technical level ad-hoc task force for verification of the displaced persons from Rakhine was held on Thursday virtually between Bangladesh and Myanmar.

Shah Rizwan Hayat, Refugee Relief and Repatriation Commissioner (RRRC), Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief of Bangladesh and Ye Tun Oo, Deputy Director General of the Ministry of Immigration and Population of Myanmar led their respective sides.

RRRC Shah Rizwan Hayat highlighted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s humanitarian gesture to give temporary shelters to the huge number of displaced people from Rakhine despite numerous constraints and challenges of Bangladesh.

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He expressed dismay over the slow pace of verification of past residency by Myanmar and offered all cooperation under the three bilateral instruments, to expeditiously complete the verification process.

He mentioned that solving difficulties and gaps in pending verification will pave the way for the early commencement of the sustainable repatriation of the displaced people of Rakhine which also demands creation of conducive environment in Rakhine and confidence building among them.

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Detailing the technical difficulties and information gaps, the Myanmar delegation assured their cooperation to complete pending verification.

They expressed optimism that the Task Force would be instrumental to complete the verification process.