Shawdesh Desk:

Newly appointed Chinese foreign minister Qin Gang has conveyed to Bangladesh that his country will ‘remain engaged’ in Bangladesh’s development journey to the next level, noting Bangladesh’s ‘remarkable’ economic progress over the years.

‘Our discussion was very useful and fruitful. Good news is that China has expressed its willingness to remain engaged with Bangladesh in our development journey. They want to work with us as a partner,’ Bangladesh’s foreign minister AK Abdul Momen said on Tuesday.

Talking to reporters after attending a discussion, marking the historic homecoming day of Bangladesh’s founding president Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, Momen said that he and his Chinese counterpart discussed the impact of the Russia-Ukraine war, including disruptions in the supply chain and economic fallout.

‘We need to work together to overcome the current situation due to the Ukraine war,’ Momen said.

The foreign minister said that he raised the huge trade gap issue with China as Bangladesh imports goods worth $13 billion against exports worth less than $800 million.

He said that though there was a decision of duty-free and quota-free facilities for 98 per cent of Bangladeshi products, it has not been fully implemented yet due to the absence of a gazette notification.

Businesses are yet to take advantage of the duty-free and quota-free facilities in the Chinese market, the minister said, seeking steps from the Chinese side.

Regarding the Rohingya issue, Momen said that the Chinese side sees some problems in Myanmar that are delaying the repatriation of the Rohingyas. ‘But the Chinese foreign minister remains hopeful.’

Momen said that if the Rohingya issue remained unresolved, there was a possibility that they could become radicalised.

‘These people are stateless. Their future is uncertain. For that reason, they could succumb to extremism and terrorism,’ he added.

The Bangladeshi foreign minister sought special measures from the Chinese side so that the problem could be resolved as soon as possible.

‘At least the process should start. He agreed,’ Momen told reporters referring to his conversation with the Chinese foreign minister.

Bangladesh is hosting over 1.1 million Rohingyas in Cox’s Bazar and Bhasan Char and not a single Rohingya has been repatriated since August, 2017.

In August 2017, a deadly crackdown by Myanmar army on Rohingya Muslims sent hundreds of thousands fleeing across the border into Bangladesh.