WEB DESK
Myanmar’s Aung San Suu Kyi met with Bangladesh’s Foreign Minister Abul Hassan Mahmood in Naypyidaw today to hammer out a deal to return hundreds of thousands of Rohingya Muslims who have fled violence in Rakhine state, as global pressure mounts over the refugee crisis.
More than 620,000 people have poured into Bangladesh since August, running from a Myanmar military crackdown that Washington said this week clearly constitutes “ethnic cleansing against the Rohingya.”
The talks between Suu Kyi and her Bangladeshi counterpart come ahead of a highly-anticipated visit to both nations from Pope Francis, who has been outspoken about his sympathy for
the plight of the Rohingya.
The pontiff will join a stream of global leaders who have passed through Myanmar’s capital Naypyidaw in recent weeks to pressure leaders — including the powerful Army Chief Min Aung Hlaing — to resolve the crisis.
Myanmar’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement, they discussed the development of cooperation and relations between two countries, to accept the people who left the places of Rakhine, and ongoing cooperation between two countries.
Officials could not be reached for comment about whether a final deal was on the cards.