Friday
30 May, 2025
News Flash
News Flash
TOKYO, May 28, 2025 (BSS) - Yohei Sasakawa, the respected and celebrated head of The Nippon Foundation, today hosted a dinner in honour of the visiting Bangladesh Chief Adviser, Professor Muhammad Yunus, at the Imperial Hotel in Tokyo.
The two leaders discussed the Rohingya crisis, the evolving situation in Myanmar and the sharp decline of grants and aid to humanitarian crises across the globe in recent months, Chief Adviser's Deputy Press Secretary Abul Kalam Azad Majumder told BSS.
Prof Yunus praised Yohei Sasakawa of the efforts in fostering peace and brokering ceasefires in the violence-plagued Myanmar, where the military has been engaged in fighting with regional rebel groups.
As the head of the Nippon Foundation and the Sasakawa Peace Foundation, Yohei Sasakawa visited Myanmar more than 150 times and is hugely respected by the Myanmar government and the country's more than 100 ethnic groups.
Prof Yunus sought Sasakawa's support to resolve the Rohingya crisis and help return some 1.2 million Rohingya refugees who live in Bangladesh back to their home.
"We know you enjoy deep-rooted admiration from all sides in Myanmar," Prof Yunus said.
The Chief Adviser said every year some 35,000 babies are born in the Rohingya camps in Bangladesh, and they are growing up without any hopes.
"Help us before it becomes explosive and dangerous for us," he said, adding that increasing smuggling of drugs has also worsened the security situation in the camps.
"We need to bring an end to the Rohingya crisis. This is a good moment. We can work together," he said.
The Chief Adviser also sought support from the Nippon Foundation for life-saving healthcare research work of the ICDDR'B, which has been hit hard by the suspension of aid by the USAID.
The Chief Adviser invited Mr Sasakawa to visit Bangladesh.
Foreign Adviser Touhid Hossain, Special Envoy of the Chief Adviser, Lutfey Siddiqi, and SDG Coordinator Lamiya Murshed also joined the dinner.
