Turkey to raise Rohingya issue at next UNSC meeting
Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen spoke with his Turkish counterpart Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu on phone and discussed various important issues
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu has promised to raise the Rohingya issue at the next United Nations Security Council (UNSC) meeting.
He made promise while speaking to Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen on phone, according to a press release issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Saturday.
At that time, the Turkish foreign minister mentioned that Turkey would continue to cooperate with Bangladesh for the return of Rohingyas residing in the country to Myanmar.
Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen requested that a virtual session be held at the director general level to prepare for the current situation before the conference of D-8 Organization for Economic Cooperation takes place next year.
He also requested the Turkish foreign minister to set up a D-8 working group to strengthen economic cooperation in the aftermath of the coronavirus crisis.
Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu agreed with Bangladesh's proposal on all these issues. Currently, Turkey is serving as the president of D-8.
Dr Momen expressed his hope that Turkey, as a member of the G20, would cooperate with Bangladesh in getting assistance from the $7 trillion allocated by the G20 for the least developed countries.
Besides, he requested that effective steps be taken regarding the proposal to form a "Covid-19 Recovery & Response Fund" announced in a recent meeting of foreign ministers from member nations of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC).
Dr Momen mentioned that in the current situation, many Bangladeshi workers in different countries across the globe are facing financial and food crisis.
He sought Turkey's cooperation in supporting Bangladeshi expatriates in retaining their jobs and in securing financial assistance equal to at least six months' wages if any worker returns to Bangladesh.
Dr Momen also sought Turkey's co-operation to ensure that buyers from different countries do not cancel purchases in Bangladesh's garment sector, as it is facing problems due to the Covid-19 situation.
The foreign ministers of the two countries have expressed interest in taking initiatives in the future to increase trade between the two countries.
At the same time, the foreign minister of Turkey expressed his interest in providing 1 lakh surgical masks, including N-95 masks, to Bangladesh.