Malaysia, Bangladesh among regional partners sending peace mission to Myanmar

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DHAKA (Reuters) -Malaysia, Bangladesh and some regional partners will send a joint delegation to Myanmar to push for peace and humanitarian aid for Rohingya refugees, the Southeast Asian nation’s Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said on Tuesday.

Bangladesh shelters more than 1 million Rohingya refugees in camps in its southeastern district of Cox’s Bazar, the world’s largest refugee settlement.

Anwar’s comments came at the start of a three-day visit by Bangladesh’s interim head, Nobel peace laureate Muhammad Yunus, to Malaysia.

“To secure peace in Myanmar is of course a great priority, along with immediate humanitarian assistance for the suffering first, the refugees and also the victims of earthquakes,” Anwar told a joint press briefing with Yunus.

Malaysia’s foreign minister will coordinate the Myanmar mission, set for the coming weeks, along with counterparts from Indonesia, the Philippines, and Thailand, added Anwar, who is chair of the ASEAN regional grouping this year.

“We are concerned with the burden placed on Bangladesh on having to cater for enormous numbers of Rohingya refugees.”

Escalating conflict and targeted violence against the Rohingya, a mostly Muslim minority in mainly Buddhist Myanmar’s western Rakhine state, have forced about 150,000 to flee to Bangladesh in the past 18 months, the United Nations said.

Malaysia and Bangladesh signed five pacts during Yunus’s visit, covering defence cooperation and collaboration in supply and infrastructure of liquefied natural gas (LNG), petroleum products, and related facilities.

(Reporting by Ruma Paul; Editing by Sudipto Ganguly and Clarence Fernandez)