Dhaka and Beijing today agreed on speedy solution to the protracted Rohingya crisis as Chinese President Xi Jinping and Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina held talks here.
“The two leaders have agreed on solving the Rohingya problem fast and said it cannot be kept unresolved,” Foreign Secretary Md Shahidul Haque told reporters after the meeting held at Diaoyuati State Guest House here this evening.
The foreign secretary said the Chinese president and the Bangladesh prime minister added that two years have passed after the signing of agreements to this effect.
“There is no disagreement among us on how the problem will be solved … the Rohingyas must go back to their homeland,” the foreign secretary quoted the two leaders as saying.
Haque said the two leaders mentioned that the representatives of the two countries will work together in this regard and they will pursue “good will” to prevail on Myanmar for the repatriation of the Rohingyas.
Bangladesh Ambassador to China M Fazlul Karim and PM’s Speech Writer M Nazrul Islam were present at the press briefing.
The prime minister said Bangladesh is now hosting 1.1 million Rohingyas which is a big challenge for the country environmentally and from the security aspect.
Sheikh Hasina said Bangladesh seeks “good will” from the Chinese government so that the Rohingyas can return to their motherland.
In reply, the Chinese president said they previously worked with both Bangladesh and Myanmar for solving the Rohingya crisis and will continue to do so.
“We want the Rohingyas to go back,” the foreign secretary quoted the Chinese president as saying.
Jinping said the Myanmar minister who works on the Rohingya issue may visit Bangladesh again and it is expected that it will create another possibility for solving the problem..
Jinping said as this is happening not beyond the international attention, the possibility of its repetition is very less.
“We will try as much as possible to solve the problem … before us both Bangladesh and China are close friends and they are our equal friends, none is more or less,” he said.
The Chinese president assured that as Bangladesh and Myanmar are developing countries they will see the interests of the two countries.
