State Minister for Foreign Affairs Shama Obaed Islam on Tuesday criticised the bilateral agreement with Myanmar on Rohingya repatriation, stressing that the government of Sheikh Hasina ruined everything right at the start by making a bilateral agreement.

"When the BNP government previously handled the Rohingya repatriation during the tenure of the late President Ziaur Rahman, a tripartite agreement was forged. The United Nations was a very active party to that agreement. Because of that, every OIC nation and multilateral body was involved. It proved effective - something the previous government failed to achieve," she told reporters at the ministry.

Bangladesh and Myanmar signed a bilateral Rohingya repatriation deal on November 23, 2017, followed by the signing of a physical arrangement on January 16, 2018, aimed at the safe return of displaced refugees.

However, the agreement has faced severe implementation delays and stalled due to ongoing conflict, security issues, and the lack of a safe environment in Rakhine State.

Shama Obaed said they want them (Rohingyas) to return to their country safely and under normal, secure conditions.

Describing the situation as undeniably a critical problem for Bangladesh, the State Minister said the Myanmar government should address it with utmost seriousness.

“Merely playing with words or using diplomatic phrasing won’t suffice; it needs to be translated into action,” she said, adding that Bangladesh is doing everything possible on its end.

The State Minister said an important session on the Rohingya situation will take place during the upcoming UNGA session in September.

“It must be understood that geopolitics and regional politics are involved here, and we are steering our diplomatic efforts while taking all these factors into account,” the State Minister said.

Bangladesh is hosting over 1.3 million Rohingya in Cox's Bazar and Bhasan Char.