69,000 Rohingyas will Get Renewed Passports

The chance to renew their Bangladeshi passports is being extended to 69,000 Rohingya nationals who have at different points in time sought sanctuary in Saudi Arabia. After being given sanctuary in Saudi Arabia decades ago, they were brought there on passports from Bangladesh. By accepting Saudi Arabia’s request, Bangladesh is renewing the passports of 69,000 Rohingyas whose original documents have expired. 

The Home Minister of Bangladesh and the Deputy Home Minister of Saudi Arabia had a bilateral meeting in Dhaka on Sunday, May 12, to discuss this matter. Following the conference at the Hotel La Meridien, Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan told reporters that some Rohingyas from Bangladesh went to Saudi Arabia after the independence of the country. We are unaware of their number. Saudi Arabia informed us of 69,000. If they do not have a passport, they are sent back by Saudi Arabian authorities. In that scenario, we have an understanding with Saudi Arabia that their visas will be renewed and they won’t be sent back.

The Home Minister said they came to see why we are going slow in this regard or if we had any problems. Which state will take responsibility for 69 thousand Rohingya in Saudi Arabia? In response to such questions from journalists, the Home Minister said, Saudi Arabia would not send anyone back. Again, the Saudi government will not give the Rohingya citizenship of that country. But how will they stay? For that, they need some documents. That is why they requested us.
We signed it last year. They came to talk directly about whether we were having any difficulties there, or whether there were any loopholes. The Home Minister said that they had taken Bangladeshi passports. 

Therefore, we shall only update their passports. Their residence and name will stay the same as in their passport. Additionally, he stated that the Saudi Arabian delegation and I had talked about the benefits and drawbacks of both nations.

The purpose of the meeting was to talk about expanding the BGB-Police’s capacity. There was a useful conversation regarding the Hajj. Pilgrims can board the vehicle quickly because of the introduction of the immigration procedure between the two countries.

In addition, a new service called Route to Makkah has been introduced, which allows pilgrims to have their bags delivered to their residences directly from the airport.

According to the Home Minister, a proposal for a prisoner swap deal between the two nations was made by the Saudi delegation. Bangladesh has prisoner exchange arrangements with many nations worldwide. This is a good deal for Saudi Arabia. Discussed deploying Ansar as their security guard from Bangladesh. They’ll investigate this. He stated that cordial meetings have been had to improve ties between the two nations. The number of foreign workers in Saudi Arabia is expected to rise from the existing 3 million. 

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