Foreign Minister Abdul Momen today said “Bali Process must not be a painkiller to temporary relief; it should focus more to address the root causes of irregular migration” while he attended the 8th Ministerial Conference of the Bali Process on People Smuggling, trafficking in persons and related transnational crime in Adelaide, Australia.
At the Conference co-chaired by Australia and Indonesia, Minister Momen underscored that war and violence, protracted conflicts, growing inequality among people, absence of regular migration process, and large-scale climate-induced displacements and consequent humanitarian crises pose greater challenges to the global policymakers of the world as these contribute to the increasing trends of irregular movement of people around the globe. So, for the Bali Process to be effective he stressed the need to address the root causes for preventing irregular movement of people. Referring to the Rohingya issue as risking regional peace and security, he urged all the countries to actively engage with Myanmar for an early and sustainable repatriation of the Rohingyas to their homeland, Myanmar. ABC News and the Sydney Morning Herald, two reputed dailies interviewed Minister Momen and published news on his remarks.
Foreign Minister Momen held bilateral meetings with his Australian counterpart Senator Penny Wong and the Home Affairs Minister of Australia Claire O’Neil at the sideline of the Ministerial. He sought Australian support to keep up the international pressure on Myanmar for the repatriation of Rohingyas. He expressed that Australia should consider the intake of Rohingyas under its refugee visa besides providing humanitarian assistance.
Minister Momen also met with his Indonesian counterpart at the margin of the Conference and sought the support of Indonesia to engage ASEAN on the Rohingya issue and step up pressure on Myanmar for Rohingya repatriation.
Yesterday, Minister Momen met with the Bangladesh community in Adelaide and exchanged views with them.