China welcomes signing of MOU for return of Rohingya refugees to homes

BEIJING, June 7 (APP)::China on Thursday welcomed the signing of a memorandum of understanding for establishing a framework for cooperation to create conditions for the return of Rohingya refugees to their homes and hoped the Myanmar government will work closely with relevant UN agencies to implement it.
“We welcome the signing of a memorandum of understanding between UNHCR, the UNDP and the government of Myanmar. This reflects the efforts of all parties to solve problems through dialogue and cooperation,” Chinese foreign ministry’s spokesperson Hua Chunying said during her regular press briefing held here.
She said the Chinese side hopes that the Myanmar government will work closely with the relevant UN agencies to implement the relevant memoranda of understanding.
The spokesperson said the Rakhine State of Myanmar has a complex historical, ethnic, and
religious background and needs to be settled through dialogues and consultations between the two
sides and added, the international community has played a constructive role in this regard.
China, she said, is a friendly neighbor of Myanmar and Bangladesh, adding, the Chinese side has been paying close attention to the situation in Rakhine State and is actively promoting the solution of
the issue.
She said the Chinese government has proposed three phases of proposals for anti-riot
stabilization, repatriation and resettlement, and poverty alleviation. It has been appreciated and welcomed by both Myanmar and Bangladesh.
“China is willing to work with the international community to continue to create a favorable
external environment for the promotion of consultation and dialogue between Myanmar and Bangladesh, the promotion of practical issues, the maintenance of the long-term stability of Rakhine State and the realization of the prosperity and development of Rakhine State”, she added.
Two United Nations agencies signed a landmark agreement with the Government of Myanmar on Wednesday, which they hope will provide hundreds of thousands of Rohingya refugees with a pathway
to return home.
Since August last year, some 700,000 mainly-Muslim Rohingya have fled Rakhine State, in majority-Buddhist Myanmar, for neighboring Bangladesh.