Visiting Japanese Parliamentary Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs Iwao Horii on Wednesday said the UN organisations’ involvement in Rohingya repatriation process is important.

“We hope that both governments of Bangladesh and Myanmar continue to closely communicate with each other and that the repatriation will be steadily realized,” said Vice Minister Horii.

He said they also value the cooperation between the Government of Bangladesh and UNHCR.

The Vice Minister had an official meeting with Bangladesh Foreign Minister AH Mahmood Ali in Dhaka on Wednesday.

Vice-Minister Horii arrived in Dhaka on Wednesday and will visit refugee camps in Cox Bazaar on Thursday.

The primary purpose of his visit is to further the repatriation process of Rohingya refugees. He will also be visiting Myanmar on March 23-24.

“I am visiting here followed by FM Kono’s (Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono) instruction to support the repatriation process based on the agreement between Bangladesh and Myanmar,” he said.

The Vice Minister said he conveyed three points to the government of Bangladesh.

“The key is to realize steady and early repatriation in safe, voluntary and dignified manner,” he said.

The Vice Minister said they highly appreciate Bangladesh government’s efforts for the displaced persons and we welcome the dialogue with Myanmar.

While overpopulation is widely seen in the camps, the risks of serious natural disasters have been pointed out as the monsoon season approaches, he said.

“Therefore, promoting the repatriation of displaced persons is needed from the humanitarian perspectives,” said the Vice Minister.

In Myanmar, he will encourage the government for a much clearer guideline on securing the safety of the displaced persons after the repatriation, organizing the environment of resettlement, verifying the citizenship and so forth by cooperating with UNHCR, according to Japanese Embassy in Dhaka.

“We would like to closely cooperate with the International Organizations so that our currently processing assistance of US$ 2.73 million through the International Organizations will be effectively used for both the displaced persons and host communities,” he said.

Also, the government of Japan has been implementing assistance amounting to US$ 1.9 million through the Japanese NGOs that have been working in the camps, he added.

On March 9, Japan decided to provide an additional US$ 3.45 million to these NGOs. 

“Japan will continue to assist efforts of both Bangladesh and Myanmar by closely working with them,” he said.