New Age | Yunus-XI speaks in Beijing: health care, water management to obtain priority

Yunus flies for Beijing today

The acting chief of the government, Professor Muhammad Yunus, will discuss cooperation in water management, health care and the repatriation of Rohingyas in addition to the economy and military cooperation in his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinpingin Beijing during his visit to China.

The chief advisor should leave Dhaka for Beijing today during a four -day visit to China at the invitation of his Chinese counterpart marking the 50 years of diplomatic relations between the two countries.

The visit itself gives a message because this is the first bilateral visit of professor-in-chief Muhammad Yunus in any country after the training of the acting government, the Minister of Foreign Affairs said MD Jashim Uddin on Tuesday at a press conference at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the capital ofhaka.

The briefing was organized on the visit of chief advisers in China and its participation in the Bimstec summit in Bangkok from Thailand next week.

Jashim said the talks between the two leaders would focus on economic cooperation, water management and the means to resolve the Rohingyas crisis, because there had been no progress in the repatriation of displaced people, now more than 12 Lakh, their country of Myanmar origin since the 2017 Exodus.

The secretary said that Bangladesh obtained the support of China in his efforts with Myanmar to return the Rohingyas sheltered in the Bangladesh camps.

Responding to a question, he said that the Teesta management project could be discussed in the context of water management between the two countries of the bilateral meeting scheduled for March 28 at the Great Beijing Wall.

He said that the talks between the two leaders would not be motivated by the agenda, rather than a number of offers and understanding of understanding should be signed during the visit.

Memos are linked to economic and technical assistance, support for human resources development, cooperation in disassessing attenuation, the creation of a Chinese book center, the translation and publication of classical Chinese literature and collaboration in the sports sector and cooperation between state media agencies, according to officials.

Answering a question, Jashim said military cooperation with China will also be discussed during the visit. We consider China as an important friend and China does the same.

However, he said that increased cooperation with China in the health sector would also be discussed because there was a plan to establish a hospital specialized in Bangladesh with the support of China.

Four specialized hospitals were appointed to Kunming for the Bangladais. China also plans to create a specialized hospital in Bangladesh, added the secretary.

On March 27, the chief advisor was expected to attend the Boao Forum for Asia conference in the province of Hainan, where he will give a speech during the plenary session of conference opening and could meet the executive vice-president of Chinas Ding Xuexiang.

The University of Beijing will give an honorary doctorate to Yunus on March 29, where it will also give a speech.

The chief advisor should go home the same day.

Later, Yunus would leave Dhaka for Bangkok on April 3 to attend the 6th summit of the Bengal Bay Initiative for Multisectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation.

When asked if there was a confirmation of Yunus' meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the sidelines of the Bimstec summit, the Minister of Foreign Affairs said that Dhaka was ready for the bilateral meeting between the two leaders on the sidelines of the Bimstec summit on April 4.

We are ready for talks [on the sidelines] from our part. We will wait, Jashim told journalists at the press conference.

He said Bangladesh attaches great importance to the meeting, because Dacca believes that such a meeting would help advance relations between the two neighbors in the current situation.

The Indian Minister of External Affairs, S Jaishankar, is said to have told a meeting in New Delhi on Saturday that India was considering Bangladesh's request for a meeting between Yunus and Modi on the sidelines of the Bimstec summit.