Dhaka: Bangladesh is ready to discuss with Myanmar the Rohingya issue to find out a solution to it as Myanmar is sending a special envoy.

The envoy is likely to arrive here on 11 January.

‘We want solution to it (Rohingya issue). We have already expressed our readiness to engage with Myanmar to discuss process and modalities of repatriation of Myanmar nationals,’ said an official.

The special envoy from Myanmar will meet Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, Foreign Minister AH Mahmood Ali and Foreign Secretary Mohammad Shahidul Haque during the visit, the official said without mentioning the envoy’s name.

Bangladesh says around 50,000 people have fled Myanmar and entered Bangladesh since 9 October.

Earlier on 29 December, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs summoned Myanmar Ambassador in Dhaka Myo Myint Than and demanded early repatriation of all Myanmar nationals staying in the country.

As part of mounting international pressure on Myanmar, the member states of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) will come together in Kuala Lumpur on 19 January to discuss possible actions on the situation of the Rohingya Muslim minority in Myanmar.

This is going to be an ‘extraordinary’ meeting of the Council of Foreign Ministers.

Besides, a team from the United Nations Commission on Human Rights is likely to visit Bangladesh this month, Foreign Ministry sources said.

The team is likely to visit Rohingya refugee camps in Teknaf and Ukhia.

Bangladesh will place its position before the extraordinary meeting in Kuala Lumpur on the overall situation apart from the latest development on Rohingya issue.

Meanwhile, the OIC Groups in Geneva and Brussels held emergency meetings during the past several days to discuss the ongoing crisis facing the Rohingya Muslim minority in Myanmar.

The meetings sought to identify possible actions that may be taken in the lead-up to the forthcoming extraordinary meeting of the Council of Foreign Ministers, according to officials at the OIC secretariat.

The meeting in Geneva was chaired by Ambassador Tahmina Janjua, Permanent Representative of Pakistan, in her capacity as OIC Geneva Group Coordinator on Human Rights and Humanitarian Issues, and in Brussels by Ambassador Vladimir Norov, Ambassador of Uzbekistan to Belgium, in his capacity as Chair of OIC Group, according to the OIC Headquarters.

At both the meetings, the Heads of OIC Permanent Missions in Geneva and Brussels briefed the meetings on the OIC’s latest efforts in responding to the Rohingya crisis.

During the course of discussions, members of the Groups exchanged their views on the latest developments, expressed their concerns over the continued violence against the Rohingya minority and expressed their unanimous apprehension at the attitude of the Myanmar government towards the situation in Rakhine state.

They reiterated the call for the restoration of the rights of the Rohingya community, including the fundamental rights to freely exercise their religion.

The Groups called for concrete actions to address the basic human rights and humanitarian issues of this long suffering of minority, and urged the government to ensure that the displaced Rohingya population is allowed to return to their homes in safety and dignity.

The Geneva and Brussels meetings proposed further engagement with the international community, including the United Nations and the European Union in particular, in order to coordinate further action to alleviate the plight of the Rohingya people.

Myanmar Ambassador in Dhaka Myo Myint Than is in touch with Foreign Ministry officials here to fix the visit and engagements in Dhaka.

The European Parliament (EP) has asked the government of Myanmar to allow the UN and other outside observers to assist in investigating recent events in Rakhine State’s Maungdaw district.

The EP also urged the military and security forces to stop immediately the ‘killings, harassment and rapes’ of the Rohingya people, and the burning of their homes.

It made the call in a resolution on the situation of the Rohingya minority in Myanmar on 15 December.