China to initiate ‘tripartite talks’ over Rohingya after Myanmar polls
Friday, 23 October 2020
Beijing has assured Dhaka that it would take initiatives to arrange the second round of foreign ministerial level ‘tripartite talks’ among Bangladesh, China and Myanmar over Rohingya repatriation after next month’s Myanmar general elections.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi made the assurance in a telephonic conversation with his Bangladesh counterpart Dr AK Abdul Momen on Thursday evening, reports BSS.
After the Myanmar polls, the Chinese foreign minister suggested holding an ambassador level talk first before arranging the foreign ministers’ tripartite meeting over commencing the Rohingya repatriation.
Wang conveyed to Bangladesh Foreign Minister Momen that Myanmar recently reassured China of taking back the forcibly displaced Rohingyas from Bangladesh once the Covid-19 situation improves.
Wang Yi said China has been maintaining regular communication with Myanmar at various levels over the Rohingya repatriation issue while Naypyidaw assured Beijing that they would start discussions with Bangladesh soon in this regard.
The Chinese diplomat also laid emphasis on starting tripartite senior-level official preparatory talks in Dhaka soon over the Rohingya repatriation.
The first such tripartite meeting among the foreign ministers of Bangladesh, China and Myanmar was held on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York last year.
Bangladesh is hosting over 1.1 million forcefully displaced Rohingyas in Cox’s Bazar district and most of them arrived there since August 25, 2017, after a crackdown by the Myanmar military, which the UN called a “textbook example of ethnic cleansing” and “genocide” by other rights groups.