Rohingya repatriation to start soon: Chinese ambassador
China again reiterated its opinion that Rohingyas must be repatriated to Myanmar soon, expressing optimism that the process would start quickly.
The observation came when newly-appointed Ambassador of the People's Republic of China to Bangladesh Yao Wen paid a courtesy call on Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen on Monday.
Bangladesh appreciated China's assistance in several mega projects and said it looked forward to the speedy approval and implementation of the existing and pipelined projects.
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The foreign minister congratulated the new ambassador and thanked the Chinese government for enhancing duty-free, quota-free (DFQF) market access from 97% to 98% of products from Bangladesh into the Chinese market.
He hoped this facility would come into force with necessary gazette notification within a short period, said a press release.
During the meeting, Momen acknowledged the invaluable support that China had extended to Bangladesh to tackle the Covid-19 pandemic.
He expressed hope of having China's continuous support in repatriating Rohingyas to Myanmar.
In reply, the Chinese Ambassador noted that the Rohingyas needed to be repatriated to their homeland in Myanmar and hoped that the repatriation would start early.
Momen expressed hope that bilateral relations between the two countries would reach new heights during the tenure of the new Ambassador.
During the meeting, both sides exchanged views on bilateral and multilateral cooperation on mutual interests, including trade and investment, infrastructure development, connectivity, south-south cooperation, etc.
Ambassador Yao expressed his satisfaction over the ongoing development projects in Bangladesh with Chinese support, including the Padma bridge rail link, Bangabandhu Tunnel under Karnaphuli river, Mongla port upgrading, the extension of Osmani International Airport in Sylhet etc. He also informed that China will participate in the upcoming Bangladesh Business Summit to be held in Dhaka from 11-13 March 2023.
