Published : 10 Sep 2026, 06:10 PM
Updated : 16 Sep 2026, 11:49 AM
State Minister for Foreign Affairs Humaiun Kobir has called for greater international action on the Rohingya crisis, saying Bangladesh neither created the problem nor can resolve it alone.
“Even though nine years have passed since the displacement of the Rohingya, it is not possible to consider this situation acceptable or normal,” he said.
“This is a prolonged strain on the nation. Bangladesh did not create this crisis and it is not possible to solve it alone.”
Kobir made the remarks at the opening session of a day-long international conference titled “Protracted Rohingya Crisis: The Search for a Comprehensive Approach” at the Foreign Service Academy in Dhaka on Thursday.
The conference was jointly organised by the Department of International Relations and the Center for Genocide Studies at Dhaka University, in collaboration with the Foreign Service Academy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and UNHCR.
Calling on Myanmar to find a lasting solution, Kobir said: “A humanitarian responsibility should not be misunderstood as an ‘infinite or indefinite responsibility’. Relief aid alone is not enough to end the crisis. Myanmar itself must find a permanent political solution.”
He described the formation of the National Rohingya Strategy Formulation Committee, initiated by Prime Minister Tarique Rahman, as a major step in shaping government policy.
“This is not just an ordinary committee,” he said.
“For the first time, it has brought the country’s diplomatic, humanitarian and security institutions under a single framework.”
Kobir said Bangladesh would use its role at the 81st session of the UN General Assembly to push the Rohingya crisis higher up the international agenda.
He added that Bangladesh would continue working with international and bilateral partners, including China, to seek a sustainable and dignified solution through discussions with the Myanmar government.
Foreign Secretary Asad Alam Siam, also speaking at the opening session, highlighted the uncertainty and shifting situation on the ground in Rakhine State.
“The groups controlling territory there are not necessarily the same actors with whom formal diplomatic engagement must take place,” he said.
Despite those complications, Siam said integrating the Rohingya into Bangladesh was not an acceptable solution.
The first part of the conference reviewed the social, economic and regional security risks posed by the prolonged Rohingya crisis.
UNHCR Representative Ivo Freisen and Foreign Service Academy Rector Ambassador Muhammad Abdul Muhith also spoke at the opening session.
Later sessions were set to discuss international burden-sharing amid declining humanitarian aid, safe and voluntary repatriation to Rakhine, accountability through international courts and strategies to reduce future risks.
Organisers said a policy brief would be prepared from recommendations made by diplomats, academics, researchers, civil society representatives and international organisations at the conference to help inform government policy.
