Bangladesh-China talks underway for Tarique Rahman’s first foreign visit

Bangladesh’s new Prime Minister, Tarique Rahman, is in talks with Beijing to visit China in the coming weeks. According to a report in Prothom Alo, Beijing is keen to welcome Mr. Rahman for his first foreign trip in the last week of June.

Sources indicate that the schedule for the visit has not yet been finalised, but plans are underway to begin the several-day visit with high-level meetings between Prime Minister Rahman and top Chinese leaders, including President Xi Jinping and Prime Minister Li Keqiang.

The conversation about the visit, which will be the first foreign tour by Mr. Rahman since taking charge on February 17, was also disclosed last week by his Foreign Affairs Adviser, Humayun Kobir, who highlighted China’s importance as a “development partner” and said that the visit will definitely take place.

Earlier, on May 8, during a conversation at a Dhaka hotel, China’s ambassador to Bangladesh, Yao Wen, had indicated that the visit was being planned, though he did not mention a schedule at that time. The newspaper reported that Bangladesh may raise the need for infrastructure development, the relocation of Chinese industries to Bangladesh, the establishment of Chinese economic zones in Bangladesh, and the Teesta Master Plan, in addition to the modernisation of Mongla port. Enhancing aviation connectivity is also expected to be discussed.

Mr. Rahman, who will complete his first hundred days in office next week, has been holding talks within his team about his first visit abroad since coming to power in February. The first destinations were expected to be India, China, or Saudi Arabia. However, the crisis in the Gulf reduced the likelihood of a trip to Saudi Arabia, and Bangladesh’s relations with India in recent weeks have been strained by rhetoric from West Bengal and Assam concerning illegal immigration.