Chinese Ambassador to Bangladesh Yao Wen on Sunday said it is high time to work together to have more projects and investment from China overcoming the common challenges ahead.
"We find that there is a great potential to work together on high level visits and economic development," he told reporters at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The Ambassador said China can do a lot and the two countries can work together for a better future.
“That is something China can do together to overcome common challenges faced by the two countries,” Ambassador Wen said, referring to the challenges of Covid-19 and also problems that emerged amid the situation in Ukraine.
Referring to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s vision for 2041, the Chinese envoy said Bangladesh is now stepping into Smart Bangladesh from Digital Bangladesh and assured of his country’s support to that end.
“I am confident that during my tenure I can work together with Bangladesh. China can do a lot. We can support each other. We can work together for the better future of our bilateral relationship,” he said.
Responding to a question on Rohingya repatriation, Ambassador Wen said they have a common objective with Bangladesh regarding repatriation of Rohingyas to their homeland.
He recognised Bangladesh's "sacrifice" in hosting the huge number of Rohingyas and assured of playing its role for their repatriation.
“We discussed the issue. You pay a lot. You suffered a lot. You sacrificed a lot. We have the common objective (repatriation),”said Ambassador Wen.
Bangladesh is hosting over 1.1 million Rohingyas in Cox’s Bazar and Bhasan Char and not a single Rohingya has been repatriated over the last six years.
Earlier, the Chinese Ambassador had separate meetings with State Minister for Foreign Affairs Md Shahriar Alam and Foreign Secretary Masud Bin Momen and discussed the Rohingya issues apart from other bilateral issues.
“We discussed ways to expand bilateral ties,” said the Ambassador.
Source: United News of Bangladesh