Arakan News Agency
High-level talks in Malaysia kicked off Sunday to address the migrant crisis that has surged at sea in Southeast Asia. The Malaysian and Bangladeshi foreign ministers met ahead of talks planned for later in the week aimed at finding a solution to the festering problem that has left thousands from Myanmar and Bangladesh stranded at sea in recent weeks.
Malaysian Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Anifah Aman met with Abdul Hassan Mahmood Ali, the foreign minister of Bangladesh, in the state of Sabah Sunday, the Associated Press reported, a prelude to wider talks involving the Thai and Indonesian foreign ministers set for Monday and Wednesday.
Malaysia’s The Star reported Anifah is hoping to work out a plan to present to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, the 10-member regional organization Malaysia currently chairs.
Malaysia has been a major destination for the migrants, believed to be ethnic Rohingya asylum seekers fleeing persecution in Myanmar, as well as Bangladeshis escaping severe poverty at home. Malaysia is currently home to more than 45,000 ethnic Rohingya refugees and asylum seekers, according to the United Nations refugee agency. But as boatloads of migrants have turned up on Malaysian shores in recent weeks, the country says it cannot handle more.
“I have already said that we cannot afford to accept more of them, as a huge number already exist here — and so far no countries want to settle them,” Anifah said, according to Malaysia’s New Straits Times.
Source: IBtimes
