Malaysia to continue to support Bangladesh on Rohingya issue, Asean partnership

Malaysian Higher Education Minister Dr Zambry Andel Kadir has reaffirmed Malaysia's continued support for Bangladesh, including efforts to resolve the Rohingya humanitarian crisis and advocating for Bangladesh's inclusion as a sectoral dialogue partner of Asean.

"We are looking forward to closer ties with Bangladesh," he told Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus when he called on the Bangladesh premier at the St Regis Hotel in the Egyptian capital, Cairo, today (18 December), reports BSS.

The chief adviser is currently on a two-day state visit to Egypt to attend the 11th D-8 Summit scheduled to be held today. He left Dhaka early yesterday at 1:20am.

He reached the Egyptian capital yesterday at 11am (local time) and was received at the Cairo International Airport by the Minister of the Public Business Sector of the Arab Republic of Egypt, Mohamed Shimi, said the chief adviser's press wing, reports UNB.

Later, Prof Yunus held a brief meeting with the minister.

During the meeting at the St Regis Hotel, Yunus and Zambry discussed issues of mutual interest between the two countries, including the recruitment of Bangladeshis in Malaysia, expansion of higher education ties, the Rohingya crisis, and the possibilities of Bangladesh's joining Asean, reports BSS.

On the Rohinga issue, the chief adviser said he has proposed an international conference on the Rohingya crisis, and he expects Malaysia to extend support to the move.

He said more than 80,000 new Rohingyas have entered Bangladesh in recent months after the latest bout of violence gripped Myanmar's Rakhine state, which has been home to the Rohingya people for centuries.

Prof Yunus said he also favoured creating an United Nations-supervised safe zone for the displaced people in Rakhine state in an effort to assist the violence-plagued region.

Meanwhile, the chief adviser will be attending today's D-8 summit where heads of government from several countries, including Indonesia, Turkey, Iran and Pakistan, are scheduled to join.

Referring to the theme of this year's D-8 Summit, "Investing in Youth and Supporting SMEs: Shaping Tomorrow's Economy," CA's Deputy Press Secretary Abul Kalam Azad Majumder said this summit is important for Bangladesh as the chief adviser has been speaking for utilising the strength and potential of youths after taking over the charge, reports UNB.

"He always wants our youths to flourish to their full potential, and he has been working to this end. Now he will get a scope to work on it in a global forum (D-8)," he said.

On the sidelines of the summit, Prof Yunus is likely to hold bilateral meetings with the heads of the government of some D-8 member states, including Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, said the deputy press secretary, reports BSS.

Besides, the chief adviser will also deliver a lecture at the Al-Azhar University in Cairo, said Azad.

Prof Yunus will address the Egyptian university as part of an invitation of Al-Azhar Al Sharif's Grand Imam Ahmed Eltayeb who extended the invitation during their meeting at the Ritz Carlton Hotel in Baku, Azerbaijan, on 12 November.

This week marks an "important moment" for the D-8 as key discussions will unfold over the next few days at the 48th D-8 Commission Meeting, the 21st Council of Ministers Meeting, and the 11th D-8 Summit.

These meetings will bring together leaders to strengthen economic cooperation and outline a shared vision for sustainable development among member states.

The D-8 Organisation for Economic Cooperation, also known as Developing-8, is an organisation for development cooperation among Bangladesh, Egypt, Indonesia, Iran, Malaysia, Nigeria, Pakistan, and Turkey.