Rohingya issue will dominate the council of foreign ministers (FMs) of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) as its 45th session opens in city on Saturday.
A total of 531 high-profile delegates, including foreign ministers and state ministers, from 37 OIC countries are expected to attend the council.
Bangladesh will facilitate a visit of the OIC delegates to the Rohingya camps in Cox's Bazar to provide them with an opportunity to get a firsthand assessment of the refugee situation.
According to the plan, the delegates arrive in Cox's Bazar at 9 am tomorrow (Friday) and will visit several camps up to 12 noon.
In the midst, they will be briefed by the local administration and representatives of the international donor agencies on the latest refugee situation.
They will return to Dhaka at 5 pm and will attend a dinner hosted by Bangladesh foreign minister at the Hotel Pan Pacific Sonargaon.
"In the previous councils, Rohingya issue did not get due importance as many were reluctant," foreign secretary M Shahidul Haque told the FE. "But now we are going to hold a special session on the Rohingya refugee crisis, which I think is an achievement for us."
In this council, a special session on 'Humanitarian challenges of the OIC countries including those relating to the Rohingyas' will be held on the second day where the delegates will deliver their statements on the issue.
Bangladesh expects that this will put a pressure on Myanmar to expedite the repatriation process, foreign ministry officials said. Bob Rae, special envoy of Canadian prime minister for Rohingya issue, will also attend the meeting.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will be the chief guest at the inaugural session of OIC foreign ministers' meeting. She is scheduled to address the session at 11 am.
Before that, past chair of the council Marcel Amon Tanoh, foreign minister of Cote Dlvoire and the present chair Bangladesh foreign minister AH Mahmood Ali, Chair of the OIC summit, foreign ministers of three regional groups, secretary-general of OIC Youssef A Al Othaimeen and special guest of the inaugural session Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland will deliver their speeches.
The inaugural session will be followed by the working session where the heads of delegations will present their statements up to 5.30 pm.
Then at 7.30, they will attend a dinner to be hosted by President Abdul Hamid at the Bangabhaban.
The second day will start with the special session on 'Humanitarian challenges of the OIC countries including those relating to the Rohingyas'. This session will be followed by the closing session, which will draft the resolutions and the outcomes.
There will be a joint press briefing at 2 pm, which will be attended by Bangladesh foreign and OIC secretary general.
Also, the issue of improving regional connectivity will come up for discussion in the meeting, said a high official of the foreign ministry.
"Besides this, many member countries intend to push the issue of the internal reform in the OIC in the upcoming meeting," he said.
"They feel that OIC has not been performing as per its vision. So they are going to suggest changes in work procedure and structures," he added.
Meanwhile, first delegate secretary-general of the Malaysian foreign ministry Ibrahim Ramlan arrived Wednesday night.
mirmostafiz@yahoo.com