Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen on Friday said the "Bali Process" must not be a painkiller to temporary relief; it should focus more to address the root causes of irregular migration.
He made the remarks at 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, 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 said.
Momen 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 Momen and published news on his remarks.
The foreign minister held bilateral meetings with his Australian counterpart Senator Penny Wong and Home Affairs Minister of Australia Claire O’Neil on the sideline of the ministerial.
He sought Australian support to keep up the international pressure on Myanmar for the repatriation of Rohingyas.
Momen expressed that Australia should consider the intake of Rohingyas under its refugee visa besides providing humanitarian assistance.
The minister also met with his Indonesian counterpart at the margin of the conference and sought support from Indonesia to engage ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) on the Rohingya issue and step up pressure on Myanmar for Rohingya repatriation.
On Thursday, Momen met with the Bangladesh community in Adelaide and exchanged views with them.
