Things still under discussion, says Shahriar about Chinese FM's visit

State Minister for Foreign Affairs Md Shahriar Alam on Tuesday said things are still under discussion regarding Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi's proposed visit to Bangladesh, noting that there is nothing specific yet.

"Time, arrival and departure – these are not yet confirmed," he told reporters at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, adding that both the visit and its agenda are still under discussion.

Responding to a question, Shahriar said he was not saying that the visit is not taking place. "I am just saying all relevant things related to the visit are not finalised yet."

The state minister said he does not want to shed any doubt but there is nothing to say in detail about the visit yet. "You will get to know," said, adding that things will be cleared within the next 48 hours.

Shahriar also suggested not to bring any third country in discussion between two countries bilateral discussion. "Please do not bring any third country in a bilateral context and discussion."  

Foreign minister AK Abdul Momen is expected to return home on 6 August evening after attending the ASEAN Regional Forum meeting on 5-6 August in Cambodia.

Earlier on Sunday, Foreign Secretary Masud Bin Momen said the Chinese Foreign Minister's visit to Bangladesh is part of their "regular contacts."

"It can't be said (there's) urgency (from the Chinese side). Since he will be visiting this region, he expressed desire to come here if we can give time. We are looking into the timings," he said when a reporter wanted to know why there was so much urgency from the Chinese side.

In January 2017, Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi had an hour-long stopover in Dhaka. "This time, he will be coming for a longer period," said the foreign secretary.

Talking to a small group of reporters at his office on Sunday, the foreign secretary said the two countries will discuss ways to strengthen the relations during the visit.

He said the Rohingya issue might also come up for discussion as the Chinese foreign minister was part of trilateral meetings in the past on Rohingya repatriation.

Responding to a question, the foreign secretary said there are four-five MoUs in the pipeline which are yet to be finalised.

The Chinese foreign minister is likely to meet Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina apart from a bilateral meeting with his Bangladesh counterpart Momen to discuss bilateral, regional and global issues.

Chinese Ambassador to Bangladesh Li Jiming met Momen recently at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and discussed various issues of mutual interest including the proposed visit of the Chinese foreign minister.