UN, World Bank chiefs to visit Bangladesh this week

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United Nations,  UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and World Bank President Jim Yong Kim will visit Bangladesh this weekend, according to a UN spokesman.

The visit aims to acknowledge Bangladesh for hosting more than 1 million refugees from neighbouring Myanmar and advocate for more aid, spokesman Stephane Dujarric said on Thursday.

Dujarric said Guterres and Kim will also visit the Cox’s Bazar district in the southeast of Bangladesh to meet some of the refugees, reports Xinhua news agency.

More than 670,000 Rohingya refugees fled from Myanmar’s northern Rakhine state since August 2017 after the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army extremists launched attacks on police outposts in the state.

Dujarric said the visit also aims to lay groundwork for further dialogue with the government on medium-term planning for the refugee situation and to reiterate the UN and World Bank’s support for finding comprehensive solutions to the situation of the Rohingya and to advocate for more donor support.

The UN officials also plan to assess progress towards a safe, voluntary and dignified return of refugees in line with international standards, he added.