The interim government led by Muhammad Yunus clarified that Chinese envoy Yao Wen’s recent visit focused on a technical assessment for the Teesta River Comprehensive Management and Restoration Project
As tensions between India and Bangladesh soar, Chief Advisor Muhammad Yunus’ government took the Chinese Ambassador to Dhaka to a Teesta project area located close to India’s Siliguri corridor or Chicken’s Neck.
The interim government led by Muhammad Yunus clarified that Chinese envoy Yao Wen’s recent visit focused on a technical assessment for the Teesta River Comprehensive Management and Restoration Project.
This comes amid heightened regional scrutiny following Yunus’s controversial suggestions regarding the “extension of the Chinese economy” and his framing of India’s Northeast as “landlocked.” These remarks gained significant traction during December’s anti-India demonstrations, which saw protestors targeting Indian diplomatic missions across Dhaka and other major cities.
Bangladesh’s water resources advisor, Syeda Rizwana Hasan, accompanied Wen to the project area in Rangpur’s Tepamadhupur Taluk Shahbazpur and said that China is keen to start implementing the Teesta Master Plan (TMP) as soon as possible.
The Chinese ambassador also held a meeting with Bangladesh’s national security adviser, Khalilur Rahman, over the weekend, following which Yunus’ press wing wrote, “Both sides exchanged views on issues of mutual interest, reaffirming longstanding friendship and development cooperation between Bangladesh and China.”
“Discussions included Teesta River Comprehensive Management and Restoration Project and proposed Bangladesh–China Friendship Hospital. In this context, Chinese ambassador informed that he would visit Teesta project area, and reiterated China’s commitment to completing the ongoing technical assessment expeditiously,” it added.
Last year, Yunus sparked a
row after he called the Northeastern region “landlocked” and drew criticism for calling on China to expand its control over Indian regions during his state visit to the country.
However, this was not the only time he raked up the region in one of his statements. In a post on X, the interim government elaborated on Yunus’ meeting with Indira Rana, Deputy Speaker of House of Representatives of Nepal Parliament, saying, “Yunus has called for an integrated economic strategy between Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, and the Seven North Eastern States of India, emphasising the potential of cross-border collaboration in hydropower, healthcare, and road connectivity.”
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