Bangladeshi passports issued to 22,000 Rohingyas

Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed said that 22,000 Rohingyas residing in Saudi Arabia have already been issued Bangladeshi passports based on verification of necessary documents and qualifications.

He gave this instruction after a courtesy call on the Saudi ambassador to Dhaka at the Secretariat on Monday. This information was given in a press release of the Home Ministry. The Home Minister said that so far, 22,000 Rohingyas have been issued passports subject to verification and evidence, and a special team from Bangladesh is working in Saudi Arabia to expedite this process.

The release said that the meeting discussed various issues of mutual interest, including the law and order and security situation of the two countries, the issue of Bangladeshi passports to 69,000 Myanmar citizens or Rohingyas living in Saudi Arabia.

In the meeting, the Saudi ambassador emphasized the need to quickly complete the process of issuing Bangladeshi passports to the Rohingyas residing in Saudi Arabia.

Salahuddin Ahmed said, “Those Myanmar citizens who have Bangladeshi documents or who meet the necessary conditions should be issued passports immediately.”

He also ordered a re-verification by collecting a complete list from Saudi Arabia.