Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what representations he has made to his counterpart in Bangladesh on a timetable for the reinstatement of internet services for Rohingya refugees.

The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office has consistently engaged with the Government of Bangladesh on the importance of restoring internet services in the Cox's Bazar refugee camps since restrictions were introduced in September 2019. The Foreign Secretary raised this in a letter to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in July. The Minister for South Asia, Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon, has discussed the issue several times with the Bangladesh High Commissioner in London. The British High Commissioner in Dhaka has also spoken with the Prime Minister's Foreign Policy Adviser and with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. On Friday 28 August, we were pleased to see internet services restored in the camps.