Bangladesh’s Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed announced that 22,000 Rohingya residing in Saudi Arabia have been issued Bangladeshi passports. He made the statement on Monday, April 20, during a courtesy meeting with Saudi Arabia’s Ambassador to Bangladesh, Dr. Abdullah Jafar bin Abiyah, at the Secretariat in Dhaka. The minister emphasized that Saudi Arabia is one of Bangladesh’s closest partners, with cooperation spanning manpower export, energy, and tourism sectors.

During the meeting, the Saudi ambassador highlighted the ongoing process of issuing Bangladeshi passports to 69,000 Rohingya in Saudi Arabia and urged for its acceleration. In response, the minister said that a special team from Bangladesh has been sent to expedite the process and warned that no corruption or irregularities would be tolerated in passport issuance. He also instructed officials to verify lists from Saudi Arabia and ensure that Myanmar nationals meeting the required conditions receive passports promptly.

The discussion underscored both countries’ interest in expanding cooperation and ensuring transparency in handling the Rohingya documentation process.