State minister for foreign affairs Md Shahriar Alam on Wednesday said that Saudi Arabia did not say that they will send back Rohingyas, living there for a long time, to Bangladesh.
“No, Saudi Arabia did not say that they’ll send back Rohingyas to Bangladesh,” he said, replying to a question at his office, a day after his return from the Kingdom from a three-day official visit.
He said during the visit, his Saudi counterpart Adel Al-Jubeir made it clear that they do not have such issues with Bangladesh.
“But we’ll remain engaged,” he said, adding that he has asked the Saudi government to give details for further scrutiny since there was a scope of forgery in handwritten passports.
Bangladesh is now giving e-passports.
There have been reports in the media that Saudi Arabia wants to send back Rohingyas, they had given shelter long before, to Bangladesh.
Earlier, Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan said they are not Bangladeshi citizens. They were from Myanmar. They were Myanmar citizens. He said the Saudi Arabia was so generous to take Rohingyas in the past. “The Rohingyas live in a particular area of a Saudi city.”
During the visit, the state minister Shahriar expressed his deep gratitude to the Saudi King and Crown Prince for allowing all the foreign residents irrespective of their legal status for access to free Covid-19 treatment and inoculation, which has saved many lives of expatriates, including Bangladesh community living in the Kingdom.
