Staff Reporter:
State Minister for Foreign Affairs Humaiun Kobir yesterday said Bangladesh expected foreign govern-ments to notify it when Bangladeshi nationals faced criminal proceedings abroad so that consular assis-tance could be extended to them.
Speaking to journalists at the foreign ministry, he said Bangladesh had sought an explanation from Saudi Arabia over an apparent gap in information-sharing regarding the reported executions of two Bangla-deshis.
Kobir said Bangladesh would inform the Saudi authorities if a Saudi national were arrested here on a criminal charge, enabling them to provide consular assistance.
“At the very least, they should know that one of their citizens has become involved in criminal activities on Bangladeshi soil,” he said.
Bangladesh expected similar communication from Saudi Arabia and other countries so that it could ex-tend assistance to its nationals, he added.
Referring to newspaper reports about the executions, the state minister said there appeared to have been a lapse in the information-sharing process.
“We are seeking an explanation,” he said, adding that the two sides were discussing the matter to estab-lish where the communication gap had occurred.
The state minister said Saudi Arabia had its own laws and that anyone travelling there was subject to those laws.
He said Bangladesh’s concerns centred on information-sharing, communication and the procedures in place.
He also described the reported offences as deeply disappointing, saying involvement in criminal activi-ties at a sacred site visited by people for religious purposes was unacceptable.
He underlined Bangladesh’s close and longstanding relations with Saudi Arabia and expressed confi-dence that bilateral ties would reach new heights under Prime Minister Tarique Rahman and the present government.
Briefing journalists on his overseas visit, Kobir said he had attended the CICA summit in Baku, Azerbai-jan, before travelling to Baghdad to attend the OIC Council of Foreign Ministers’ meeting.
He described the visit as productive and said international stakeholders had shown considerable interest in Bangladesh during meetings held on the sidelines.
At the OIC meeting, he made a strong appeal on behalf of the government for member states to come forward and help resolve the Rohingya crisis.
Kobir also co-chaired an ad hoc ministerial meeting on Rohingya accountability with the foreign minis-ter of The Gambia.
He said the discussions prioritised the Rohingya issue and explored how OIC member states could work together to promote peace.
Asked about discussions on a possible Bangladeshi role in maintaining stability in the Middle East, draw-ing on the country’s peacekeeping experience, he said no substantive discussions took place during the visit on Bangladesh’s participation in any specific initiative.
