Electricity import from Nepal under process

Staff Reporter :
Amid the increasing bilateral engagement, the Chinese government has extended an invitation to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina for a visit at the earliest convenience.

Foreign Minister Dr Hasan Mahmud informed the journalists about the invitation after a call on with the Chinese Ambassador to Bangladesh Yao Wen at the Foreign Ministry on Sunday.

The invitation was initially extended by China, and it was reaffirmed by the Chinese Ambassador, he said. The foreign minister stated that they would determine a suitable time for the Prime Minister’s visit.

The minister said that the duo also discussed the entire gamut of the bilateral relations including Chinese cooperation in infrastructural development as well as expanding the trade basket.

Apart from Chinese Ambassador, Foreign Minister also had separate meetings with UN Coordinator Gwyn Lewis and Ambassador of Nepal Ghanshyam Bhandari with whom he talked about the Rohingya repatriation and electricity import as well as challenges of climate change.

The Foreign Minister stated that China is a crucial development partner for Bangladesh, particularly playing a significant role in the construction of major infrastructure and bridges in our country.

“We have trade and economic cooperation with China. Bangladesh imports textiles and jute, while China is interested in importing more products such as raw jute, leather, meat, seafood, and fish from Bangladesh. In addition, China wants to import mangoes from here,” he said.

The Foreign Minister expressed the hope that they can import mangoes starting from the second half of this year, particularly from July onwards.

“We have also talked about duty-free access for Bangladeshi products entering the Chinese market,” he said.

Regarding the Rohingya issue, he said China was actively collaborating with Myanmar’s authorities to facilitate the repatriation of Rohingya refugees.

Despite the current challenges, Hasan Mahmud expressed optimism that the repatriation process would commence soon, anticipating the normalisation of the situation in Myanmar.

“Rohingyas are a burden for us. Our local inhabitants have become minority there due to the Rohingays. So repatriation is the only solution. We have talked with utmost importance on the issue and sought Chinese cooperation,” he said.

Regarding the meeting with UN Coordinator Gwyn Lewis, Foreign Minister said, “We have said that the Rohingya issue should not be sidelined from the international spotlight due to Israeli aggression in Gaza.”

“We have also discussed the statements issued by the UN Human Rights Commission. We have told that these statements are inconsistent with the reality because they collect information from biased and wrong sources. The coordinator said that they would see into it,” he said.