Un Secretary-general Arrives In Bangladesh To Visit Rohingya Refugee Camps And Push For Aid

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres arrived in Bangladesh on Thursday on a four-day visit to review the situation of more than 1 million Rohingya refugees amid the fear of aid cuts that could seriously affect them.

Bangladesh's foreign affairs adviser, Touhid Hossain, received Guterres at Dhaka's main airport.

Guterres's visit, which is his second to the country, is seen as crucial after the announcement of possible aid cuts by the World Food Program, or WFP, and others following the decision by Washington to shut down USAID operations .

The interim government, which came to power in August after the ouster of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in a mass uprising in Bangladesh, is hopeful that the visit will strengthen international efforts to mobilize aid for the Rohingya refugees and attract new global attention to the Rohingya crisis.

The WFP, the main U.N. food agency, said in a letter to the refugee authorities earlier this month that cuts to food rations could take effect from April 1 in Cox's Bazar, where dozens of camps are inhabited by Rohingya refugees.