UN chief Guterres meets CA Yunus, set to visit Rohingya camps together
The UN chief says he will ‘issue a call’ to the international community to step up their humanitarian assistance for the Rohingyas
United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres called on Chief Adviser (CA) Muhammad Yunus at the Chief Adviser's Office in Dhaka this morning (14 March).
They discussed the issues of mutual interests, including the Rohingya refugee crisis, during the meeting.
After the meeting, Yunus and Guterres are scheduled to fly from Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in the same plane to Cox's Bazar, where they will attend a series of programmes together including a Rohingya camp visit and Iftar with Rohingyas.
Keep updated, follow The Business Standard's Google news channel
Earlier in the morning, Foreign Adviser Md Touhid Hossain and CA's High Representative on Rohingya Issue and Priority Matters Khalilur Rahman called on the UN chief at InterContinental Dhaka in the capital.
Guterres said he would "issue a call" to the international community to step up their humanitarian assistance for the Rohingya men, women and children who have already suffered so much.
"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, reports UNB.
During the meeting, Touhid and Khalilur discussed issues related to the Rohingya crisis with Guterres.
The UN secretary general arrived in Bangladesh yesterday afternoon (13 March) on a four-day visit. He is scheduled to meet government officials, civil society members, journalists, and other dignitaries during his visit, which will end on Sunday morning (16 March).
Disaster Management and Relief Adviser Faruk E Azam will receive Yunus and Guterres at Cox's Bazar Airport at around 12pm on Friday. From there, they will go to a Rohingya refugee camp in Ukhiya.
At a briefing at the watch tower led by UNRC, RRRC, ISCG Principal Coordinator and IOM-UNHCR Representative, a panoramic view of the camps and Myanmar border will be provided to the two leaders.
There will be a briefing by the World Bank; demonstrating the role of IFIs in strengthening infrastructure and human capital investment among refugees. The briefing will highlight disaster mitigation and integrated approaches to service delivery.
The chief adviser is also scheduled to visit the under-construction Cox's Bazar International Airport and the Khurushkul Climate Refugee Centre today.
Apart from meeting with Rohingya refugees, who have been forcibly displaced from their homes in Myanmar, Yunus and Guterres will also meet with members of Cox's Bazar host communities.
Later in the evening, Yunus and Guterres will attend an Iftar programme, hosted by the CA, with around 100,000 Rohingya refugees and members of the host community of Cox's Bazar.
They are expected to return to Dhaka from Cox's Bazar at around 8:40pm.
