Dhaka is committed to promoting peace, security in indo pacific: Shahriar

ZOOMBANGLA DESK: State Minister for foreign affairs Md Shahriar Alam today said Bangladesh is committed to promote peace and security not only in Indian ocean but also in greater area of Indo-Pacific.

“We (Bangladesh) will hopefully come out with our own strategy (regarding indo-pacific) very soon,” he said while speaking as the chief guest at a senior level dialogue on “Bangladesh and the Indo-Pacific Collaboration: Priority Issues and Concerns” at a city hotel.

The state minister said Bangladesh recognizes its geo strategic importance and is yet to sign any trade treaty under the purview of indo-pacific.

Regarding Rohingya crisis, Alam said, it is one of the most challenging tasks for the law enforcement agencies to deal with the safety and security issues of the Rohingyas and the host community in Cox’s Bazar.

He referred to various criminal activities in the Rohingya camps and assured of taking appropriate steps to maintain law and order situation there.

Alam said that Bangladesh would not compromise its national security if Rohingyas are found to be engaging in criminal activities like terrorism, human trafficking, drug running and gender-based violence.

The state minister said the government has taken a combination of bilateral, regional and multilateral efforts to find a solution to the Rohingya crisis.

Bangladesh Center for Indo Pacific Affairs and Department of International Relations, Jahangirnagar University (JU) hosted the dialogue moderated by Bangladesh Center for Indo-Pacific Affairs Executive Director Professor Shahab Enam Khan.

Since August 25 in 2017, Bangladesh has been hosting over 1.2 million forcefully displaced Rohingyas in Cox’s Bazar district and most of them arrived there after a military crackdown by Myanmar, which the UN called a “textbook example of ethnic cleansing” and other rights groups dubbed as “genocide”. (BSS)