Dhaka: Visiting Estonian Foreign Affairs Minister Sven Mikser on Monday stressed the need for mounting further political pressure on Myanmar for the repatriation of Rohingyas from Bangladesh.

He came up with the observation during a courtesy call on Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina at her Jatiya Sangsad Bhaban office in the evening.

PM’s Press Secretary Ihsanul Karim briefed reporters after the meeting.

The Estonian minister said it is necessary to make stronger political pressure on Myanmar so that they take Rohingyas back to their homeland.

The Rohingyas will have to be repatriated ensuring their safety and security in Myanmar, he said.

Earlier, Sven Mikser visited Rohingya camps in Cox’s Bazar to see for himself the sufferings of the forcibly displaced Myanmar nationals.

About the bilateral ties between Bangladesh and Estonia, the visiting minister said they want to take it to a new height and enhance the bilateral economic cooperation on various sectors.

He emphasised enhancing government-to-government contact and businesspeople-to-businesspeople communication.

Sven Mikser said Estonia can share its experiences of the IT sector with Bangladesh.

He appreciated the socioeconomic uplift of Bangladesh and praised its contributions to the United Nations Peacekeeping Mission.

The Prime Minister said there are a number of areas where bilateral cooperation can be explored between the two countries.

Noting that Bangladesh is setting up 100 economic zones, she invited Estonian investment in those zones as there is a good opportunity for the investment and Bangladesh is a large market.

When the Estonian minister wanted to know about the big challenges for Bangladesh, the Prime Minister said it has a number of challenges such as scarcity of land compared to the population size, natural disaster, climate change and sustainable development.

Hasina said her government is unleashing development in a planned way facing the challenges. “Now, the GDP growth is 7.78 percent and the poverty rate came down to 22 percent,” she added.

About the Rohingya issue, Hasina said some 1.1 million Rohingyas, who took shelter in Bangladesh, are a huge burden on the country, but her government gave shelter to them on humanitarian grounds.

Since Myanmar is a neigbouring country, Bangladesh started dialogue with them on the repatriation issue. The Myanmar authorities also agreed to take Rohingyas back but they do not act accordingly, she said.

The Prime Minister recalled the support of Estonia to Bangladesh during its 1971 Liberation War.

PM’s International Affairs Adviser Gowher Rizvi, Principal Secretary Nojibur Rahman and Honorary Consul of Estonia in Bangladesh Syed Farhad Ahmed were present at the meeting.