Indonesia’s Vice Foreign Minister Arrmanatha to visit Bangladesh on 1 June

Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs of Indonesia, Arrmanatha Christiawan Nasir, will visit Bangladesh from 1 to 4 June 2025, aiming to deepen bilateral ties between the two nations and discuss pressing regional and global issues.

Diplomatic sources in Dhaka and Jakarta said the visit will cover a broad range of topics, including trade and investment, the Rohingya crisis, the Middle East conflict, and enhanced cooperation among OIC member states.

During his stay, the Vice Minister is expected to hold meetings with Chief Adviser Dr Muhammad Yunus, Foreign Adviser Md Touhid Hossain, and Commerce Adviser Sheikh Bashir Uddin.

Both countries are finalising the itinerary, which includes engagements with business leaders, policymakers, members of civil society, and civil and military bureaucrats. A key event will be a reception hosted by the Indonesia-Bangladesh Chamber of Commerce and Industry at Hotel Intercontinental on Sunday, 1 June.

Bangladesh is likely to urge Indonesia to help narrow the growing trade imbalance. During the July–June period of FY2023-24, Bangladesh exported goods worth $48.2 million to Indonesia. In the July–April period of FY2024-25, the figure stood at approximately $47.6 million.

In contrast, Indonesia is Bangladesh's third-largest import source, with exports to Bangladesh totalling $3.56 billion (5.6%) in FY2023-24, up from $3.38 billion (4.9%) the previous year. China and India remain the top two import sources.

Indonesia is also becoming an increasingly popular destination for Bangladeshi nationals, with the number of Bangladeshis in the country rising steadily in recent years.

The Rohingya crisis is expected to feature prominently in bilateral discussions. Bangladesh seeks greater involvement from OIC and ASEAN countries, including Indonesia, in advocating for a durable solution.

The UN estimates around 2,800 Rohingya refugees currently reside in Indonesia. With Indonesia also affected by the spillover of the crisis, both countries are expected to explore common ground for multilateral initiatives.

Bangladesh will also raise concerns over the worsening humanitarian situation in the Middle East, particularly the continued loss of Palestinian lives in Israeli attacks over the past 18 months.

Foreign Adviser Md Touhid Hossain recently stated that the prolonged Rohingya crisis poses a serious threat to regional stability, calling for more robust international engagement. "We've not yet found a viable solution to this crisis, despite it burdening us for a very long time," he said, adding that the prospects of repatriation remain bleak due to the ongoing internal crisis in Myanmar.

Since 25 August 2017, more than 700,000 Rohingyas have fled to Bangladesh, joining earlier arrivals to make a total population of over 1.3 million, housed in Cox's Bazar camps and Bhasan Char Island. No successful repatriation has occurred in the past eight years.

Meanwhile, recent funding cuts by the United States have severely impacted humanitarian operations. The International Organization for Migration (IOM) announced in late February that it could no longer provide healthcare and cash assistance to 925 Rohingya refugees in Indonesia, citing "resource constraints" following major US aid reductions.

The World Food Programme has also halved food rations for over a million Rohingyas in Bangladesh, cutting support to $6 per person per month, reflecting the broader crisis in refugee assistance.

As global humanitarian agencies struggle, Bangladesh and Indonesia's upcoming high-level meetings are expected to underline the urgency of collective action—both regionally and internationally—for a sustainable and humane resolution to one of the world's most protracted refugee crises.