Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has urged the world leaders to ensure repatriation of Rohingyas to their homeland Myanmar soon to escape security risks in the region and beyond.

"The world must act seriously to make sure that these people can go back to Myanmar soon. Otherwise, the security risks from the crisis will not just remain confined within our borders. We already see signs of that," she said.

The PM made the call while addressing the Fourth Edition of the Paris Peace Forum-2021 titled "Minding the Gap: Improving Global Governance after Covid-19" here on Thursday afternoon.

She said in August 2017, Bangladesh helped avoid a major regional crisis by giving temporary shelter to Myanmar's forcibly-displaced people, of which more than a million continue to face an uncertain future.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina hands over the 2021 Unesco-Bangladesh Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman International Prize for Creative Economy to Japheth Kawanguzi of MoTIV Creations Limited (Uganda) on Thursday at the Unesco headquarters in Paris. Photo: PID

Mentioning that the Indo-Pacific region must be an area of peace and prosperity for all, Hasina said, "Our vision for the region is to have it free, open, peaceful, secure and inclusive."

The major actors in the region should learn from the past and work responsibly in the present to ensure a sustainable future, she said, adding, "Bangladesh wishes to engage with all our partners on the basis of mutual respect and understanding."

The PM said in 1997, Bangladesh ended an armed conflict in its Chittagong Hill Tracts through a historic Peace Accord. "We vowed a 'zero tolerance' approach to all forms of terrorism. We keep investing at the community level to contain their spread."

Hasina said for many years now, Bangladesh ranks top among the troop and police contributing countries to UN peacekeeping operations, and hold on to its faith in the Middle East Peace Process in support of the Palestinian cause.

She said the Covid-19 pandemic has exposed the fault-lines running deep within the international health and financial systems.

Hasina said there is no option but to secure vaccines for millions of people without access to them.

"We must keep raising our climate ambitions to save people's lives, homes and livelihoods."

The PM said Bangladesh believes that peace around the world is the best guarantee for national security. "We avoid the path of conflicts and seek pacific settlement of disputes," she said.

As a permanent member of the UN Security Council, Hasina said France is uniquely placed to promote international peace and security.

French President Emmanuel Macron convened the Forum while its president Pascal Lamy chaired the event.