UN Secretary-General António Guterres arrived in Bangladesh on Thursday on a four-day visit to review the situation of more than 1 million Rohingya refugees amid the fear of aid cuts that could seriously affect them.

Bangladesh's foreign affairs adviser, Touhid Hossain, received Guterres at Dhaka's main airport.

Guterres's visit, which is his second to the country, is seen as crucial after the announcement of possible aid cuts by the World Food Programme, or WFP, and others following the decision by Washington to shut down USAID operations.

The interim government, which came to power in August after the ouster of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in a mass uprising in Bangladesh, is hopeful that the visit will strengthen international efforts to mobilise aid for the Rohingya refugees and attract new global attention to the Rohingya crisis.

The WFP, the main UN food agency, said in a letter to the refugee authorities earlier this month that cuts to food rations could take effect from April 1 in Cox's Bazar, where dozens of camps are inhabited by Rohingya refugees.

The agency said that the food rations could be half, or USD 6, from the existing USD 12.50 per month.

In a message to The Associated Press, the WFP said recently that whether the fund cuts would be effective from next month would depend on getting adequate funding that it requires to run their operations.

WFP spokesperson Kun Li said that they were “actively mobilising funds” to prevent any reductions in food assistance for Rohingya refugees. If the agency is unable to secure sufficient funding — USD 81 million to sustain operations through the end of the year, including USD 15 million needed for April — they will have no choice but to reduce rations starting in April.

Guterres and Bangladesh's chief adviser, Muhammad Yunus, are scheduled to visit Rohingya camps in the southern Cox's Bazar district on Friday.

On Saturday, Guterres will hold a meeting with Yunus at his office in Dhaka, the capital.