Chinese foreign minister will arrive in Dhaka Saturday

Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi is scheduled to reach Dhaka at 5:00pm on a two-day trip to discuss bilateral, regional and global issues with Bangladesh leadership.

Neither the ministry of foreign affairs nor the Chinese embassy in Dhaka shared his programme schedule in detail till the time of filing this report on Friday evening.

Minister Wang is scheduled to meet prime minister Sheikh Hasina Sunday morning apart from holding a bilateral meeting with his Bangladesh counterpart AK Abdul Momen the same day.

The meeting between foreign minister Momen and his Chinese counterpart is likely to be held at 7:30am (beginning with breakfast) at a city hotel on Sunday.

“This is going to be different from other bilateral visits. I can’t tell you in detail at this moment as many things are still under last minute discussion,” another official familiar with the development told UNB, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Awami League general secretary and Road Transport and Bridges minister Obaidul Quader will host a dinner in honour of the Chinese foreign minister on Saturday evening, said state minister for foreign affairs Md Shahriar Alam.

Foreign minister Momen is expected to return home Saturday night from Cambodia after attending the ASEAN Regional Forum meeting (August 5-6).

Talking to reporters at the ministry of foreign affairs on Thursday, Shahriar Alam said Bangladesh and China are likely to sign multiple MoUs and agreements during Wang’s visit.

He said the list is not finalised yet and it can be five-seven – new and renewal including cooperation on the disaster management and cultural exchange fronts.

Shahriar assured that the planned MoUs and agreements will be aligned with Bangladesh’s cultural, social and economic policy though the list is not finalised yet.