United News of Bangladesh

China and Canada foresee ‘intense collaboration’ with Bangladesh in trade diversification and investment and assured continued support for humanitarian assistance to forcefully displaced Myanmar nationals. This was conveyed by the Foreign Ministers of China and Canada on Thursday during meetings with Foreign Adviser Md Touhid Hossain on the sidelines of 32nd ASEAN Regional Forum taking place in the Malaysian capital of Kuala Lumpur. The Foreign Adviser is leading the Bangladesh delegation to the 32nd ARF Ministerial Meeting that is scheduled to be held on Friday. While having a meeting with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, both sides expressed confidence in the future prospects of the bilateral ties. The Chinese Foreign Minister expressed China’s full support to the reform initiatives of the government of Bangladesh and assured China's cooperation in many priority areas, such as, medical tourism and water management, said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. China keen to deepen ties with Bangladesh’s next elected govt: Fakhrul Recalling the recent Investment Conference of China in Bangladesh, he expressed China’s interest to work with Bangladesh in the field of textiles, energy, light engineering, among others. The Foreign Adviser acknowledged with deep appreciation the political and development support extended by China to the current Government led by Professor Muhammad Yunus. He reiterated Bangladesh’s call for urgent and immediate solution of the Rohingya crisis and solicited China’s support in this regard. Hossain also urged China to support Bangladesh in regional and multilateral platforms, including in the United Nations. Later in the afternoon, the Foreign Adviser met Canadian Foreign Minister Anita Anand where both sides discussed possible means to expand bilateral relations, especially in the field of trade, including through trade diversification and resilience building. The Canadian Foreign Minister also expressed Canada’s support in addressing the longstanding Rohingya crisis. China keen to set up industries at Mongla: Press Secretary The Foreign Minister was accompanied by Ambassador Shameem Ahsan, High Commissioner of Bangladesh to Malaysia, Md Forhadul Islam, Director General of Ministry of Foreign Affairs and other senior officials of Bangladesh.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, who will visit the Rohingya camp together with Chief Adviser Prof Muhammad Yunus on Friday afternoon, will "issue a call" to the international community to step up their humanitarian assistance for these men, women and children who have already suffered so much. He will share an Iftar with the refugees, to be hosted by Dr Yunus. A million Rohingyas will break fast in their camps in Cox's Bazar with Guterres and Chief Adviser Dr Yunus. "Every Ramadan, I spend time with Muslim communities living in difficult circumstances, to observe the fast with them and help shine a spotlight on their plight. This year I’m in Bangladesh to express my solidarity with Rohingya refugees and the Bangladeshi people hosting them," Guterres said on his Ramadan solidarity visit. Foreign Affairs Adviser Touhid Hossain and High Representative of Chief Advisor on Rohingya Issue and Priority Matters Dr Khalilur Rahman met with the UN chief at Hotel InterContinental on Friday morning and discussed the issues related to the Rohingya crisis. The UN chief had a bilateral meeting with the chief adviser and they are scheduled to leave Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport for Cox’s Bazar by a chartered Biman Bangladesh flight at 11:15am today (Friday), a senior official told UNB. Guterres arrived in Dhaka on Thursday afternoon with a packed schedule for Friday and Saturday, featuring a series of meetings and greater engagements in Cox’s Bazar Rohingya camp, before his departure on Sunday morning. Guterres and Dr Yunus will meet there with Rohingya refugees who have been forcibly displaced from their homes in Myanmar. UN chief to inspire Rohingyas with hope for safe return: Shafiqul Alam They will meet with the host Bangladeshi communities who have been so generous in hosting them. On Saturday in Dhaka, the secretary-general will meet with youth and representatives from civil society, said an official at the UN office in Dhaka. He will also have a joint press conference with the Foreign Adviser Hossain on Saturday afternoon. And we will update you on all of the secretary-general’s activities. Chief Adviser’s Press Secretary Shafiqul Alam on Thursday said Guterres, who is now in city on a four-day Ramadan solidarity visit, will give the Rohingya community a message of hope that they will be able to return to their homeland soon in dignity and with safety, and that all of their rights will be fully established and respected. "We would also urge that the Secretary General will invest his exceptional leadership to make progress toward the objective of their early repatriation and ensure that international aid to Rohingyas are not adversely affected," Alam said while responding to some queries that he received from the media. Regarding contact with Arakan Army, the Press Secretary said considering the newly emerged situation in the Rakhine state, they ought to act and safeguard their border security, stability and peace. "Therefore, we are keeping operational contact with the actors on the other side of the border," Alam said. He said the solution of the Rohingya issue lies in sustainable repatriation of the Rohingyas back to Myanmar. Dr Yunus, UN chief Guterres to visit Rohingya camps Friday This should be the highest priority of the international community, Alam said, adding that Bangladesh is relentlessly working toward this objective. Bangladesh has been hosting over 1.2 million Rohingya refugees for long eight years. In recent months. around 80,000 more Rohingyas have entered Bangladesh. "It is beyond the capacity of Bangladesh to continue to host the forcibly displaced Rohingyas," Alam said. He said the international support for Rohingyas has taken a turn for the worse, leading to the decision to cut the daily food ration for the Rohingyas. "This will severely affect their nutritional status, particularly women and children. It will also have serious social and security implications, including safety and security within the camps and in the host community," Alam said. He said they reiterate Bangladesh's appeal to all donors and the UN system to ensure that the assistance to Rohingyas is given high priority and aid to them does not diminish. Global focus on Rohingya crisis to return through UN chief’s visit: Govt In light of the dire humanitarian situation in Rakhine State, the press secretary said, Bangladesh will positively consider supporting UN-led humanitarian assistance to the state.

The United States has announced around USD 26 million in additional humanitarian assistance for Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh and the region, for those in Myanmar affected by the ongoing violence, and for the communities hosting refugees from the country. “With this new funding, our total assistance for those affected by the Rakhine State and Rohingya crisis has reached nearly $2.1 billion since August of 2017, when over 740,000 Rohingya were forced to flee to safety in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh,” US Department of State Spokesperson Ned Price said in a regular media briefing in Washington. This new funding would allow USA’s humanitarian partners to continue providing lifesaving assistance to affected communities on both sides of the Myanmar-Bangladesh border, including nearly 980,000 Rohingya refugees hosted by Bangladesh, some 740,000 of whom arrived in the months following August 2017 when they were forced to flee genocide, crimes against humanity, ethnic cleansing, and other horrific atrocities and abuses perpetrated by Myanmar’s military in Rakhine State, he said. Also Read: Rohingya repatriation top priority in JRP 2023, US$ 876m sought This funding will also provide assistance to nearly 540,000 Bangladeshi host community members and to others affected by ongoing violence in Myanmar. The United States appreciated the generosity of the Government of Bangladesh and other nations and the hospitality of the Bangladeshi people in hosting Rohingya refugees, especially now that “we are in the sixth year of this protracted crisis,” he added. “We remain committed to working towards durable solutions to the crisis, and we’ll continue to partner with the Government of Bangladesh, the Rohingya community, host communities, and people inside Burma to ensure a coordinated and well-supported response to this humanitarian crisis,” Ned Price said. The international community, he said, must remain steadfast in their commitment to alleviating the suffering of the world’s most vulnerable people, including through the Rohingya crisis response. Also Read: JRP 2023 launched: IOM in $125m appeal for Rohingyas, hosts.

The US has announced over $170 million in additional humanitarian assistance for Rohingyas inside and outside Myanmar as well as for host communities in Bangladesh. "With this new funding, our total assistance in response to the Rohingya refugee crisis has reached nearly $1.9 billion since August 2017, when over 740,000 Rohingya were forced to flee to safety in Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh," US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Thursday. The assistance comes about a month after the UN refugee agency said the funding to help Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh was well short of needs. More than a million Rohingya are living in squalid camps in southern Bangladesh comprising the world's largest refugee settlement. The new round of US humanitarian assistance includes more than $93 million through the State Department and more than $77 million through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), Blinken said. About $138 million was allocated specifically for programmes in Bangladesh to provide life-sustaining support to the Rohingyas, many of whom are survivors of a campaign of genocide and crimes against humanity and ethnic cleansing, and 540,000 host community members, according to the State Department. "Recognising that conditions in Myanmar do not currently allow for the safe, voluntary, dignified, and sustainable return and reintegration of displaced Rohingyas, we are working with the government of Bangladesh, Rohingyas, and people within Myanmar towards finding solutions to the crisis," Blinken said.  The latest support will enable the provision of food, safe drinking water, health care, protection, education, shelter, and psychosocial support, the US government said. The US urged other donors to contribute robustly to the humanitarian response and increase support to those driven by and affected by violence in Myanmar. Also read: Japan, UNHCR sign $3.5 million partnership deal for protection of Rohingyas in Bangladesh  

The government of the Republic of Korea has announced its plan to provide US$ 3.2 million in 2022 to support humanitarian assistance for the Rohingyas and their host communities in Bangladesh. This year’s humanitarian assistance will be provided through international organizations such as UNHCR, IOM, WFP, UNICEF and IFRC operating in Cox’s Bazar and Bhasan Char, said the South Korean embassy in Dhaka on Tuesday. According to the Embassy, some portion of this year’s funding will be allocated to the refugees in Bhasan Char for the second year in a row. South Korea has supported UN agencies’ operation in Bhasan Char since the inception of the relocation to the island in 2021. In addition, highly recognizing the generosity of the Bangladesh government and its people for hosting the Rohingyas, the Embassy stressed that a fair portion of this year’s assistance has been allocated to support host communities in Cox’s Bazar which were directly impacted by the refugee influx five years ago. Read:Army to join drive against terrorism, drugs in Rohingya camps: Home Minister Since 2017, the government of the Republic of Korea has continued to provide US$ 4 to US$5 million annually to the Rohingyas and their host communities in Bangladesh in close cooperation with the Bangladesh government and international organizations. Korea’s funding has been used up for various humanitarian activities over the five years including the provision of LPG and food, humanitarian activities in response to fire in the camps, and the provision of services to protect gender-based violence. In addition to annual regular funding, Korea has also assisted humanitarian activities in Cox’s Bazar through KOICA, Korea’s development agency. KOICA is implementing ‘Project for Improving Menstrual Health Management of Adolescent Girls and Women in Cox’s Bazar’ through UNFPA with a budget of US$ 2.95 million. Also, ‘Psychosocial Support Project for Rohingya Women’ has been kicked off this year in cooperation with a Korea’s non-governmental organization. The Embassy said the Republic of Korea supports dialogues between the government of Bangladesh and Myanmar for the repatriation of the refugees and believes that safe, voluntary, dignified and sustainable return of Rohingya refugees to their communities should be realized as soon as possible.

Bangladesh has sent humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan, where a strong earthquake claimed over 1,000 lives last month. A C130-J aircraft of the Bangladesh Air Force took off with emergency relief materials, including medicines, blankets, dry food and tents, on Tuesday and will hand them over to the Afghan government, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a release. Also read: Destruction everywhere, help scarce after Afghanistan quake The powerful earthquake hit eastern Afghanistan on June 22, killing over a thousand people and injuring more than 2,000 others. The quake flattened hundreds of homes, triggering food, water, housing and medicine crisis.

The United States has announced to provide nearly $155 million in new humanitarian assistance, much of which will go towards the 2021 Bangladesh Joint Response Plan. With this new funding, our total humanitarian assistance for this response reaches more than $1.3 billion since 2017, including more than $1.1 billion for programmes inside Bangladesh. ”This new funding allows our partners to continue providing life-saving assistance to the nearly 900,000 Rohingya refugees who have taken refuge in Bangladesh—including the more than 740,000 Rohingya who, in 2017, were forced to flee ethnic cleansing and other horrific atrocities and abuses in Burma’s Rakhine State,” said Nancy Izzo Jackson, Senior Bureau Official at Population, Refugees and Migration wing of the US State Department.  This funding also provides support for more than 472,000 Bangladeshi host community members impacted by this displacement, she said. The US joined the government of Bangladesh, the UN, and IOM in calling for durable solutions for the Rohingya people. US humanitarian assistance for this crisis supports all sectors of the response, including education, emergency telecommunications, food security, health, nutrition, protection, shelter and relief items, and water, sanitation, and hygiene. Also read: UNHCR supporting Cox’s Bazar locals with community projects, livelihood initiatives “We applaud humanitarian actors for a well-coordinated humanitarian response, including the prevention and response to the Covid-19 pandemic, environmental programmes, and the planned Myanmar Curriculum Pilot program,” Jackson said. The US commended the many countries that have supported this response, but more assistance is required to meet the humanitarian needs of the most vulnerable in Bangladesh and Myanmar. “We, therefore, urge other donors to come forward now with additional funds to sustain and increase support for the response,” said the US senior official. The United States recognised the challenges and responsibilities that the response has placed on the government and people of Bangladesh and reiterated the continued commitment of the international community to addressing this crisis. Also read: Don’t worry about Rohingya relocation to Bhasan Char: Dhaka to UNHCR In the aftermath of the February 1 coup and the brutal military crackdown in Myanmar, commitment to the people of Myanmar, including Rohingya refugees, is unwavering, said the US official. “We will continue to support Bangladesh as well as other countries in the region that have made the humanitarian gesture to receive Rohingya refugees.  We continue to call on all states to provide humanitarian assistance and ensure protection of vulnerable Rohingya,” she said. The US official said they are pressing the military regime to stop the violence, release all those unjustly detained, and immediately restore Myanmar’s path to democracy, as we promote accountability for all those responsible for the coup and human rights abuses. “We urge Bangladesh to continue protecting refugees, particularly at this time of increased risk to them, and acknowledge its assurance that it will not return them to a country where they could face persecution and violence,” she said. On Bhasan Char, the United States welcomed the dialogue between the UN and the government of Bangladesh, and encouraged continued close consultations. “We reiterate any relocations of refugees to Bhasan Char must be voluntary and refugees’ right to freedom of movement must be respected,” she said. The US urged Bangladesh to grant the UN independent access to refugees on the island, as well as approval to conduct a comprehensive technical and protection assessment.

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Wednesday urged the international community to continue to reach all Syrians in need of humanitarian assistance.

Fortify Rights has said the regional governments in South and Southeast Asia should support safe disembarkation and humanitarian assistance for scores of Rohingya refugees on a boat reportedly adrift at sea.

The shock of COVID-19 has pushed the number of people who need humanitarian assistance worldwide to a record high – up by 40 per cent compared to the same time last year.