The Rohingya refugee repatriation process would start in mid-November, said Myint Thu, Myanmar's Foreign Secretary talking to reporters in the Kutupalong refugee camp of Ukhia upazila of the district on Wednesday noon.
The Myanmar foreign secretary made the comment during the Bangladesh-Myanmar Joint Working Group delegation's visit to the refugee camps on Wednesday.
He said that the first batch of 2,000 Rohingya people would be repatriated to Myanmar.
"5,000 refugees were already identified for repatriation from the Bangladesh list of 8,032 refugees", Myint Thu said.
The 30-member Bangladesh-Myanmar Joint Working Group delegation visited the Rohingya camps at Ukhia to see the situation of repatriation on the ground.
Foreign Secretary M Shahidul Haque led the Bangladesh side and Myanmar Foreign Secretary Myint Thu led the Myanmar side.
Talking to reporters, Shahidul Haque said, "This repatriation is a complex process. It needs political will. We feel Myanmar has the will".
"Not only security, we have taken an initiative considering all aspects. As part of it, a portion of Rohingya refugees will be taken back in mid-November, he added.
Bangladesh and Myanmar formed the Joint Working Group (JWG) with 15 members from each side, in December last year to oversee repatriation of the Rohingya refugees.
This is the first time a Myanmar delegation from the joint response team visited the Rohingya camps.
Over 800,000 Rohingya refugees have taken shelter in the refugee camps of Cox's Bazar since August last year after they had fled violence in Rakhine state of Myanmar.
AFP adds: Bangladesh officials said a new list of 24,342 Rohingya names was handed over in talks this week.
But Rohingya representatives expressed strong doubts about going back despite the announcement.
"We would rather die in the camp in Bangladesh. We will not return without any guarantee of citizenship or fully restored rights," Abdul Hakim, one refugee from Myanmar's Rakhine state, told the news agency.
The United Nations, aid groups and even Bangladesh authorities have said any repatriation must be voluntary.
Oxfam spokesperson Rachael Reilly said the refugees "want to see justice served and an end to the violence and discrimination that have caused this crisis".
"It is deeply concerning that Rohingya people may be sent back to Myanmar to face the same persecution they fled," she said.
