Dhaka-Beijing foreign office consultation Saturday

The foreign office consultation with China on bilateral issues, including Rohingya repatriation, will be held on Saturday in Dhaka.

To attend the meeting, Chinese Vice-Minister of Foreign Affairs Sun Weidong arrived in Dhaka Friday night on a two-day official visit to Bangladesh. He will meet Foreign Secretary Masud Bin Momen on Saturday.

The public relations division of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Sun Weidong is scheduled to pay a courtesy call on Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Sunday. If everything goes well, this time Beijing may also issue an invitation to the prime minister for a high-level political visit. Earlier, Sheikh Hasina visited China in 2019.

Chinese Ambassador to Bangladesh Yao Wen recently said Bangladesh and China ‘should deepen the strategic partnership’ for cooperation and explore the new growth points. “China is willing to work with Bangladesh to continue exploring cooperation opportunities under the Global Development Initiative, Global Security Initiative and Global Civilisation Initiative,” he said.

In particular, the ambassador said, they were willing to promote upgrading of industries and digitalisation process in Bangladesh and improve the quality and competitiveness of ‘Made in Bangladesh.’

Foreign Secretary Masud Bin Momen held a meeting with Myanmar on April 18 with the mediation of China regarding the Rohingya repatriation. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs hopes that the talks held in China's Kunming will be taken forward by Sun Weidong's visit.