Bangladesh, Pakistan, China hold inaugural trilateral foreign office discussion

Bangladesh, Pakistan and China held an inaugural trilateral foreign office-level discussion this week in Kunming, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Pakistan has announced. The trilateral consultation was led by Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Sun Weidong, Bangladesh’s Acting Foreign Secretary Ruhul Alam Siddique and Additional Foreign Secretary of Pakistan Imran Ahmed Siddiqui. Foreign Secretary of Pakistan Amna Baloch, who participated in the first Foreign Office Consultation with Bangladesh in one and half decades on April 17, 2025, participated in Thursday’s (June 19, 2025) trilateral discussion via video link, said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Pakistan.

“In her remarks the Foreign Secretary Ambassador Amna commended the Chinese side for convening the inaugural meeting of the trilateral mechanism. Noting the common aspirations of the three sides for people-centric development, the Foreign Secretary expressed Pakistan’s desire for a deeper engagement between China and South Asian countries,” said a press note from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Pakistan announcing the Bangladesh, China, Pakistan Trilateral Mechanism.

This is the first such meeting between the three neighbours of India – China, Pakistan and Bangladesh – since Chief Adviser of the interim government of Bangladesh Prof Mohammed Yunus visited China during March 26-29 and also since India carried out Operation Sindoor in May when India and Pakistan clashed.

During his China visit, Prof Yunus had addressed the business community in China and presented Bangladesh as a partner of China politically and commercially. Prof Yunus presented Bangladesh’s long coastline as an advantage to the country and said Bangladesh is the “only guardian of the ocean” and that China should access the market of northeast India through Bangladesh. The comment was cited as an irritant in Delhi-Dhaka relations by official sources in India later when India stopped the flow of textile apparel from Bangladesh through the land ports of India. The May 17 order also stopped entry of certain specified products from Bangladesh to the northeastern States of India.

The discussion in Kunming coincided with Bangladesh-United States dialogue that was held between the interim government’s National Security Adviser Dr Khalilur Rahman and U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau at the State Department in Washington DC on June 19. “They discussed the Rohingya issue, ongoing tariff negotiations between Bangladesh and the U.S-, developments in South Asia, and the democratic transition in Bangladesh,” said a press statement issued by the office of Prof. Mohammed Yunus, Chief Adviser of the interim government of Bangladesh.

Mention of the Rohingya issue after the bilateral discussion has brought to focus the so-called humanitarian corridor from Bangladesh to Myanmar’s Rakhine province that Dr. Rahman has been championing in recent weeks. Rakhine-Chin-Sagaing region of Myanmar is of common interest of India, China and Bangladesh and in recent weeks, the United States has also indicated more interest in the strategically important area with the US Air Force personnel conducting a humanitarian assistance and disaster relief programme in May in the Cox’s Bazar area.