China is serious about implementing the Teesta River Comprehensive Management Project and ready to support, only if Bangladesh is determined to engage it, said Chinese Ambassador to Bangladesh, Li Jiming.
The Ambassador made the comment on Saturday as chief guest at a seminar on the 20th Congress of the Community Party of China organized by Bangladesh China Silk Road Forum at a city hotel.
Jiming said if the Bangladesh government is really determined to do it, China would take it under very positive consideration. But there is also some information which said there might be some hesitation from the Bangladesh side because of the outside pressure.
China is cautious about the project due to the geo-political sensitivities surrounding it, he also said.
Li Jiming said that China is a strategic friend of Bangladesh. China is ready to provide any kind of cooperation to Bangladesh.
Stating that information is available from various places, he said, “There is some external pressure on the Bangladesh government in this regard. I don't know exactly where the pressure is coming from and why.”
“I think the most important factor (for this project) is not technology, not money, but the determination of the Bangladesh government. If it (Bangladesh) says it is determined to do so, China will be there.
Jiming said, “The Bangladesh government has offered us the Teesta project. We have accepted. It is now being investigated. According to the feasibility study of the project, no dams will be constructed near the border and it is not harmful to the upstream country due to reverse currents. The project will not have any adverse impact on the upstream country.”
When drawing attention to media reports that China is blocking water supply by damming the Teesta river source, he said its source is in Sikkim (a state of India) and not in China. This is a completely fabricated report.
In response to a question, the Chinese ambassador said at the seminar that the Teesta project is very important in solving the water problem in Bangladesh. But we also have many rivers. China has been involved in water management for thousands of years. Small pilot projects can be done using China's experience in water management.
Responding to a question on Bangladesh's current political situation, the envoy said China's position is that it does not interfere with the internal affairs of any country.
“My opinion is that a country's peace and stability are prerequisites to its development. So, we hope that there will be social and political stability,” he added.
Regarding the Rohingya crisis, he said China is playing an active role in pursuing and facilitating early repatriation for the Rohingya refugees from Bangladesh, but creating a conducive environment in Rakhine will remain the key condition before repatriation.
Among others, Workers Party of Bangladesh president Rashed Khan Menon also spoke at the event presided over by the forum's president Dilip Barua.
