Diplomatic Correspondent: Bangladesh and Indonesia are expected to discuss trade, investment, the repatriation of Rohingyas, the Middle East crisis, and cooperation among OIC member states during the visit of the Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Indonesia, Arrmanatha Christiawan Nasir, to Bangladesh starting on June 1, 2025.
During his visit, Vice Minister Arrmanatha is expected to meet Chief Adviser Dr. Muhammad Yunus, Foreign Adviser Md. Touhid Hossain, and Commerce Adviser Sheikh Bashir Uddin, according to sources in Dhaka and Jakarta. He is expected to leave Bangladesh on June 4.
Both Dhaka and Jakarta are finalizing the itinerary for Vice Minister Arrmanatha’s visit, which begins on June 1, 2025.
Meanwhile, the Vice Minister will meet business leaders, policymakers, members of civil society, and civil and military bureaucrats at a reception hosted by the Indonesia-Bangladesh Chamber of Commerce and Industry at Hotel Intercontinental on Sunday, June 1, 2025.
During the visit, Bangladesh will urge Indonesia to help reduce the widening trade gap. Bangladesh exported goods worth USD 48 million (48,238,815.03) to Indonesia during the July–June period of the 2023–24 fiscal year, and goods worth USD 47 million (47,633,238.73) during the July–April period of the 2024–25 fiscal year.
Indonesia is the third-largest source of imports for Bangladesh. Indonesia’s exports to Bangladesh amounted to USD 3,556.5 million (5.6%) in 2023–2024, compared to USD 3,378.0 million (4.9%) in the preceding year.
China topped the list of suppliers, earning USD 16,637.1 million (26.4%) in 2023–2024, compared to USD 17,826.6 million (26.0%) in the previous year.
India was the second-highest supplier, with merchandise worth USD 9,000.2 million (14.3%) in 2023–2024, compared to USD 9,492.4 million (13.9%) the year before.
Indonesia is becoming an increasingly popular destination for Bangladeshis, with the number of Bangladeshi nationals rising steadily over the years.
Bangladesh is expected to raise the Rohingya issue with Indonesia, in hopes of increasing involvement from OIC and ASEAN member states in resolving the crisis.
The Rohingya issue is also a matter of concern for Indonesian policymakers, as the UN reports around 2,800 Rohingya refugees are currently living in Indonesia.
Dhaka and Jakarta are also likely to discuss the ongoing Middle East crisis, particularly the inhumane killings of innocent Palestinians by Israeli forces over the past year and a half.
Recently, Foreign Adviser Md. Touhid Hossain warned that the prolonged Rohingya crisis poses an escalating threat to both Bangladesh and regional stability, and called for stronger international action to find a lasting solution.
“We’ve not yet found a viable solution to this crisis, despite it burdening us for a very long time,” he said, describing the future of Rohingya repatriation as grim due to Myanmar’s internal situation.
Since August 25, 2017, over 700,000 Rohingyas have fled to Bangladesh in the face of brutal crackdowns by the Myanmar military in Rakhine State.
Bangladesh is currently hosting more than 1.3 million Rohingyas in camps in Cox’s Bazar and on Bhasan Char Island. However, not a single Rohingya has been repatriated in the past eight years.
Foreign Adviser Touhid Hossain noted that although Bangladesh made early efforts through bilateral diplomacy, the approach has not yielded any tangible results.
The United Nations’ migration agency has slashed aid to hundreds of Rohingya refugees in Indonesia due to major funding cuts by its largest donor, the United States.
In a letter dated February 28, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) stated it would be unable to provide healthcare and cash assistance to 925 Rohingya refugees sheltering in the western city of Pekanbaru starting March 5, “due to resource constraints.” Assistance would continue only for the most vulnerable, it added.
Many ethnic Rohingya—mostly Muslim and originally from Myanmar—constitute the world’s largest stateless population. Each year, many flee squalid camps and persecution in Myanmar and Bangladesh, sailing in rickety boats to Thailand or Muslim-majority Indonesia and Malaysia, according to Reuters.
IOM’s decision stemmed from the Trump administration’s move to cut most foreign assistance, said Chris Lewa, director of the Arakan Project, a group monitoring the Rohingya crisis, along with another source familiar with the matter.
In a statement to Reuters, IOM said it was “complying with all legal orders” as a result of the U.S. government’s decision, which has impacted “our staff, operations, and the people we serve.”
The organization emphasized it remains “committed to delivering vital humanitarian assistance” and continues to engage with donors and partners, including the U.S., to sustain critical services.
The move by the Trump administration to cut foreign aid and dismantle the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) has caused turmoil in the global humanitarian sector.
Reuters also reported that the World Food Programme would halve rations to more than a million Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh—home to the world’s largest refugee settlement—reducing monthly support to just USD 6 per person.
Hadi Sanjoyo, a senior official on Indonesia’s Pekanbaru refugee taskforce, said authorities planned to coordinate with local non-profits to address the situation, expressing concern about potential unrest amid rising tensions between refugees and local residents.
