Bangladesh and Thailand have expressed willingness to work together to deal with the Rohingya issue as the two countries are sheltering the Rohingyas who fled from Myanmar.

Foreign Minister Hasan Mahmud said this after a bilateral meeting between Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and her Thai counterpart Srettha Thavisin at Government House (Thai Prime Minister’s Office) in Bangkok.

“To resolve this problem, the two countries have expressed willingness to work together,” he said, adding that both the countries are suffering due to the burden.

The foreign minister Bangladesh is sheltering 1.3 million Rohingyas and this created problems for Bangladesh.

He said the bilateral meeting was held in a very cordial manner and the two leaders expressed interest to deepen, broaden and strengthen the ties.

Bangladesh is ready to offer a dedicated economic zone for the Thai investors if they express willingness to have that.

Bangladesh and Thailand on Friday signed five bilateral documents on visa exemption,  cooperation on energy, tourism and customs matters, and negotiation of free trade agreement (FTA) between the two countries.

The documents -- an agreement, three memorandums of understanding (MoUs) and a Letter of Intent (LoI) – were inked in presence of visiting Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and her Thai counterpart  Srettha Thavisin in Bangkok following a bilateral meeting between the two leaders at Government House (Thai Prime Minister’s Office) here.

The documents are agreement on visa exemption for the official passport holders; MoU on Energy Cooperation; MoU on Cooperation and Mutual Assistance in Customs Matters; MoU on Cooperation in the field of tourism; and LoI to commence negotiations on a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) by this year.

PM's Speech Writer Nazrul Islam was also present at the FM's briefing.