Bangladesh seeks China support for Teesta project: Joint press release

Bangladesh on Wednesday formally sought China’s involvement and support in the Teesta River Comprehensive Management and Restoration Project (TRCMRP) as the two countries reaffirmed their commitment to further strengthening their comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership.

The issue came up during a bilateral meeting between Bangladesh Foreign Minister Khalilur Rahman and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi at the Diaoyutai State Guest House in Beijing on Wednesday, according to a joint press release issued after the meeting.

Khalilur Rahman is visiting China from 5 to 7 May at the invitation of Wang Yi, marking his first official visit to China since assuming office.

During the meeting, the two sides held in-depth discussions on bilateral relations and issues of mutual interest, reached broad consensus and reaffirmed their firm commitment to supporting each other’s core interests and addressing major concerns.

Both sides agreed to uphold the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence, maintain the momentum of high-level exchanges, deepen political mutual trust and enhance synergy between their development strategies to advance the China-Bangladesh Comprehensive Strategic Cooperative Partnership.

Bangladesh reiterated its firm adherence to the One-China principle and reaffirmed that Taiwan is an inalienable part of China’s territory, while expressing opposition to any form of “Taiwan independence”.

China, in turn, reiterated its support for Bangladesh in safeguarding its national independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity, and expressed support for the development path independently chosen by the people of Bangladesh.

The two countries agreed to promote high-quality Belt and Road cooperation and expand collaboration in economy, trade, investment, industry, digital economy, water resources, health and people-to-people exchanges.

The Bangladeshi side highly appreciated Chinese President Xi Jinping’s initiative of building a community with a shared future for mankind and welcomed China’s major global initiatives.

The two sides reaffirmed their commitment to the purposes and principles of the United Nations Charter, multilateralism, democracy in international relations, and peaceful settlement of disputes.

On regional issues, Bangladesh highly appreciated China’s proposals on safeguarding peace and stability in the Middle East, while both sides called for an immediate and comprehensive ceasefire, protection of non-military targets, restoration of peace and security, and maintaining normal passage through the Strait of Hormuz.

Regarding the Rohingya crisis, China said it would continue supporting Bangladesh and Myanmar in finding a mutually acceptable solution to the issue of forcibly displaced people from Rakhine State through dialogue and consultations, and would continue supporting repatriation efforts to the best of its capabilities.

Khalilur Rahman invited the Chinese foreign minister to visit Bangladesh at a mutually convenient time.