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

Key points

• 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,...