DHAKA: Officials from 15 countries including Bangladesh, Myanmar, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand as well as Australia and the United States will sit in Bangkok on May 29 to deal with human trafficking crisis.

Thailand will host a May 29 regional meeting on the flow of migrants through the Bay of Bengal, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Tuesday, reports the Bangkok Post.

"The special meeting is an urgent call for the region to... work together to address the unprecedented increase of irregular migration," the ministry said in a statement.

Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha had called for a summit on the problem, but other countries did not respond to calls for a meeting of heads of government.

Instead, senior officials from Myanmar, Bangladesh, Malaysia, and Indonesia will join representatives from Australia, Cambodia, Laos, the United States, Vietnam and others at the one-day "Special Meeting on Irregular Migration in the Indian Ocean" in Bangkok, the ministry said.

Observers from the United Nations High Commission for Refugees, International Organization for Migration, Office on Drugs and Crime, and other organisations have been invited.

"The increasing complexity of the problem demands a multi-faceted approach. Countries of origin, transit, and destination must work together to address the problem comprehensively by addressing the root causes as well as all the contributing factors along the way," the ministry statement read.

BDST: 1340 HRS, MAY 15, 2015
RS