Rohingya repatriation likely to start this year, hopes Chinese envoy

China is making efforts to facilitate an early repatriation of the displaced people of Myanmar's Rakhine state, said Chinese Ambassador to Bangladesh Li Jiming.

"I think some progresses have been made. But unfortunately, there is no significant officially organised repatriation yet. Hopefully, this year we will achieve that," he said today during "Spring Dialogue with China", an event organised by the Embassy of China in Dhaka at a city hotel.

The Business Standard and the Diplomatic Correspondents' Association of Bangladesh (DCAB) were co-organisers of the dialogue.

Li Jiming said, "Actually, we have some working mechanism as previously disclosed in Bangladesh media. But this time, whatever the parties or consensus, before anything achieved completely, we should not disclose any details – what are happening, what have been discussed or agreed upon and so on – to media.

"So unfortunately, I can't give you more information about it. The only thing I can give you right now is [that] China is making all due efforts to help and to speed up the process of early repatriation."

The Chinese envoy said, "Rohingya repatriation will be safe, dignified and sustainable based on the voluntariness of those displaced people. That is something I can guarantee." 

He further said the Chinese government provided more than Tk10 million medical equipment for the Rohingya community.

The Business Standard Editor Inam Ahmed moderated the event.