President seeks China’s continued support for Rohingya repatriation

President M Abdul Hamid yesterday sought the Chinese government’s continuous support to ensure safe and dignified repatriation of Rohingyas to their homeland in Myanmar, when Li Jiming, new Chinese Ambassador to Dhaka, presented his credentials to the President at Bangabhaban.

“Bangladesh is currently hosting over 1.1 million Rohingyas... I hope China will continue to mount pressure on Myanmar to take back their citizens,” he said.

The president’s Press Secretary Joynal Abedin briefed reporters after the meeting.

The head of the state said Bangladesh doesn’t believe in any confrontation, and wants to settle the issue in a peaceful manner.

Earlier, welcoming the Chinese envoy to Bangladesh, President Hamid said bilateral relations between Bangladesh and China are excellent, and the ties have been expanding gradually.

Terming China as one of the important development partners of Bangladesh, the President also recalled the Chinese government’s cooperation in socio-economic development in Bangladesh.

He hoped that this trend of co-operation with Bangladesh would continue in days to come. “Many mega projects are being implemented here with financial and technical support from China, which is contributing largely to Bangladesh’s national development,” he mentioned, urging the Chinese government to invest more in different potential sectors in Bangladesh.

The incumbent ambassador said Chinese investors consider Bangladesh a good destination, and many Chinese companies have already invested here. Li Jiming said his country will continue its all-out cooperation for the socio-economic development of Bangladesh, and sought cooperation of the President in discharging his duties here.

Later, the first resident ambassador of Kosovo to Bangladesh Gunear Ureya also presented his credentials to President Abdul Hamid at Bangabhaban, the official residence of the President.

Welcoming the newly-appointed ambassador of Kosovo, the President thanked the Kosovo government as they decided to open their resident mission in Dhaka.

“Through this appointment, the existing bilateral relationship between the two countries would get a shape of multilateral relations in coming days,” the press secretary quoted the President as saying.

He suggested the envoy to be more active in exploring trade and investment potentials between the two countries.

Bangladesh officially recognised Kosovo as an independent state on February 27, 2017, as a solemn expression of Bangladesh’s solidarity with the people of Kosovo.

Gunear Ureya expressed his gratitude to the Bangladesh government for recognising Kosovo as an independent state.

Secretaries concerned to the President and high officials of the Foreign Ministry were present at the meeting.