DHAKA, July 26 (Xinhua) -- Bangladesh and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) called for united and urgent action on the issue of climate-induced migration during a policy dialogue held in the capital Dhaka Monday.
Speaking as the chief guest, Bangladeshi Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen said that the international community cannot afford to remain oblivious to the issue of climate migrants.
The number of Bangladeshis displaced by the impacts of climate change could reach 13.3 million by 2050, making it the country's number-one driver of internal migration, according to the World Bank.
Bangladesh's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement that the government has begun mainstreaming climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction into its development planning frameworks.
Ugochi Daniels, IOM's deputy director general for operations, said the IOM works as a "convening agency for climate migration," as reflected in the agency's Institutional Strategy on Migration, Environment and Climate Change 2021-2030.
"IOM is strongly committed to developing solutions for people impacted by climate change, including people on the move, people seeking to move and those seeking to stay," Daniels said. ■