BANGKOK: Bangladesh and Myanmar have agreed that they will try to complete the repatriation of hundreds of thousands of Rohingya Muslim refugees who fled from violence in Myanmar within two years, Bangladesh’s Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday.

The ministry said a joint working group from the two countries finalised an agreement on Monday on the physical arrangements for the repatriation of the ethnic Rohingya. It said they agreed that the process “would be completed preferably within two years from the commencement of repatriation”.

Myanmar and Bangladesh signed an agreement in November to repatriate the Rohingya, and the 30-member working group was set up last month to oversee the process. Many have questions whether Rohingya would return to Myanmar under the current circumstances, and whether Myanmar would accept them and allow them to live freely.

State-run media in Myanmar reported on Monday that a camp is being prepared that can accommodate about 30,000 people in 625 buildings. However, the UN agency said on Tuesday that it has not been invited to take part or given full access to the areas where refugees are to return.

Published in Dawn, January 17th, 2018