Dhaka seeks China's cooperation

Appreciating China's humanitarian assistance for the displaced Rohingya refugees, Dhaka appealed to Beijing for political support to address the crisis.

The State Minister for Foreign Affairs Shahriar Alam made the appeal, during a meeting with the newly appointed Ambassador of China to Bangladesh Zhang Zuo, at the foreign ministry yesterday.

It was the first political meeting of the Chinese envoy after presenting his credentials to the President Abdul Hamid on Wednesday, March 7, 2018.  

The state minister also requested China to respond positively to the appeal, said a foreign ministry press release.

Stating that both Myanmar and Bangladesh are friendly neighbours of China, the envoy said his country will take a neutral position over the prevailing Rohingya crisis. He expressed happiness at the progress achieved by Bangladesh and Myanmar through bilateral engagement.

Meanwhile, as the state minister expressed his concern over the provocative actions of Myanmar army to destabilise the repatriation process, the Chinese envoy said that his country is communicating with Naypyidaw and persuading them to act sincerely for the repatriation. 

In the meeting, Shariar Alam also underlined the importance of close bilateral engagement with China on political as well as economic fronts.

He appreciated China's deep interest and continued support towards socio-economic progress in Bangladesh, including speedy implementation of the Padma Bridge Rail Link project and Expansion and Strengthening of Power System Network under Dhaka Power Distribution Compacy (DPDC) area project.  

Shariar Alam expressed optimism on development cooperation between Bangladesh and China, and hoped it will be driven by China's Belt and Road and Initiative.

In the meeting, Zhang Zuo also recalled the Chinese President Xi Jinping's milestone visit to Bangladesh in October 2016, when bilateral ties between the two states were elevated to “strategic partnership of cooperation.”

He also revived that the countries had reached a consensus to expand the bilateral ties in a number of key areas.

The Chinese envoy also expressed his commitment to work with the Government of Bangladesh to promote bilateral relations between the two countries, by implementing the decision reached through the consensus of the two leaders of China and Bangladesh during Chinese President's visit to the country in 2016.