Not a single Rohingya could be repatriated in the last three years due to lack of political will and decisive action on the part of Myanmar, said Foreign Minister Dr. A K Abdul Momen.
Dr Momen made this remark when new Swiss Ambassador to Bangladesh Ms. Nathalie Chuard paid a courtesy call on him at State Guesthouse Jamuna on Wednesday, a spokesperson of the foreign ministry said on Thursday.
Appreciating Switzerland's continued support to resolve the Rohingya crisis, the foreign minister also sought international community including Switzerland's stronger role in ensuring sustainable repatriation of Rohingyas at the earliest.
The issue of justice for the victims and accountability for the atrocities committed was also highlighted by Dr. Momen.
August 25 marked the third anniversary of the latest Rohingya influx into Bangladesh.
The Swiss envoy assured of her country's strong commitment in this regard, the spokesperson said.
Dr Momen requested the new Swiss ambassador to encourage Swiss investors to invest in the hi-tech parks of Bangladesh.
The minister briefed her on Bangladesh's tremendous socio-economic development particularly during the last one decade under visionary leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. Referring to Prime Minister's vision of a 'Digital Bangladesh', Dr. Momen informed the Swiss diplomat of Bangladesh's growing capabilities in the ICT sector.
He mentioned that Bangladesh is developing 28 hi-tech parks and has a huge pool of IT professionals.
Praising precision and high-quality of Swiss products, the foreign minister has invited Swiss investors to set up manufacturing factories in the Special Economic Zones (SEZs) of Bangladesh, taking advantage of various incentive packages that are on offer for FDI, Bangladesh's demographic dividend and a growing middle-class population.
Besides, such Swiss investment would enable Bangladeshi workers to learn from Swiss manufacturing expertise, he added.
He further pointed out that alongside the ready-made garment sector, pharmaceutical and leather sectors are two other emerging export-oriented sectors of Bangladesh.
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