Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen on Friday said that the Saudi Arabia would not send back 54,000 Rohingyas living there for decades as reported by the media.
He said the Kingdom conveyed to them that “it’ll be helpful for them if we (Bangladesh) provide them with passports as it (Saudi Arabia) doesn't keep stateless people”.
The foreign minister was speaking to reporters after attending on the sidelines of an event.
He said a three-member committee, headed by Foreign Secretary Masud Bin Momen, was already formed to look into the Saudi request.
“It doesn't mean the Saudi government will send them back to Bangladesh,” he reiterated.
He, however, said that there are many people who can instigate as Bangladesh and Saudi Arabia maintain very good relations with 2.2 million workers in the Kingdom.
In the late 1970s, the then Saudi King took some Rohingyas who are the nationals of Myanmar seeing their sufferings.
The foreign minister said Dhaka will give passports only to them who are the citizens of Bangladesh and have relevant documents.
On Thursday, he said the Saudi government urged Bangladesh to take back 462 Rohingyas who are currently in jails for committing criminal activities.
The Bangladesh mission in Riyadh already checked it and found that only 70 to 80 people have Bangladeshi passports.
Dr Momen said Bangladesh will bring back those 70 to 80 people having Bangladeshi passports by issuing travel documents.
Bangladesh has given shelter to over 1.1 million Rohingyas who fled ‘ethnic cleansing’ in the Rakhine state.