China pledges stronger water communication, cooperation with Bangladesh.
China offered to deepen water governance cooperation and policy communication with Bangladesh during talks in Beijing on Thursday, as a major dam project in Tibet fuels downstream concerns over water security.
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China’s water resources minister Li Guoying told Bangladeshi Prime Minister Tarique Rahman that Beijing is willing to deepen cooperation on water resources planning, river management and flood control amid shared climate-related challenges, according to a statement from China’s water resources ministry.
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Li also voiced readiness to enhance water governance capacity building and talent exchange and training programmes with Bangladesh, the statement said.
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A mega-dam project China began building in Tibet last year has raised water security and environmental concerns in downstream countries, including Bangladesh.
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The Yarlung Zangbo river in Tibet, where the dam is located, flows into India as the Brahmaputra and into Bangladesh as the Jamuna.
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China had said the Yarlung Zangbo hydropower project will not have adverse impacts on downstream areas and it has conducted necessary communication with relevant downstream countries.
Reporting by Shi Bu and Ryan Woo; Editing by William Maclean and Susan Fenton
