The State Minister for Foreign Affairs Md. Shahriar Alam MP held bilateral meeting with the Foreign Minister of Turkey Mevlut Cavusoglu in the sidelines of the D-8 Council of Ministers. 

During the bilateral meeting both sides discussed various issues of mutual interests, says a press release issued by the Foreign Ministry on Thursday (Oct 19).

The two Ministers discussed the latest on the crisis and humanitarian disaster surrounding the forcefully displaced Myanmar nationals – the Rohingyas taking shalter in Bangladesh. While comparing notes, on the latest of the issue, they discussed ways of addressing the problem from both political and humanitarian perspectives. They expressed identical views on the ways of bringing a lasting solution which is sustainable return and repatriation of the displaced and dispossessed community to their original abodes in homeland Rakhain with rights including Myanmar citizenship and fundamental freedoms.
 
Appreciating the leadership role of the Government of Bangladesh, the Foreign Minister of Turkey reaffirmed their strong commitment to mobilize political support, as well as humanitarian assistance for the Rohingyas. They also discussed content and possible sectors in which Turkish humanitarian assistance could be delivered to the Rohingyas.

While appreciating Bangladesh’s admirable leadership for maintaining an open door policy to this Muslim community, the Turkish Foreign Minister assured the Bangladesh’s Minister of doing everything possible in their support and in support of the Government of Bangladesh.       
 
The State Minister also held separate Bilateral Meetings with the Foreign Minister of Indonesia Retno L.P. Marsudi, and Foreign Minister of MalaysiaDato' Sri Anifah Aman. Where in the Rohingya issue and D-8 cooperation figured prominently in the discussion, and they also expressed their support. They also discussed issues of mutual interests during the bilateral meetings.
 
Earlier in the morning, the State Minister Alam participated in the D-8 Council of Ministers held prior to the 9th D-8 Summit tomorrow on 20 October 2017. In his statement there he conveyed good wishes of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina for the organization she co-founded as it enters into a new phase of action of concrete projects and programmes.
 
The Meeting was also attended by Ministers of Egypt, Indonesia, Malaysia, Nigeria, and Turkey and heads of delegation of other countries.

BDST: 2155 HRS, OCT 19, 2017
AP/SMS