State Minister for Foreign Affairs met the Chinese Foreign Minister in Beijing
DHAKA, April 28 (NsNewsWire) — Md. Shahriar Alam, MP, State Minister for Foreign Affairs, who is now in Beijing to attend the 5th Ministerial Meeting of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA), met the Foreign Minister of the People’s Republic of China Wang Yi yesterday on 27th April at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China to discuss the issues of mutual interest. Bangladesh Ambassador to China M. Fazlul Karim was, among others, present at the meeting.
Expressing satisfaction over the existing state of bilateral relations between the two countries, both sides reiterated firm commitments to further deepen the existing close Comprehensive Partnership.
The Hon’ble State Minister referred to the visit of the Hon’ble Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to China in June 2014 as a historic event in view of its far-reaching impact on our bilateral relationship. He underscored the need for maintaining regular high-level contacts, particularly at top level, to inject fresh impetus to our relations. The Hon’ble State Minister requested for enhanced funding from China in the implementation of key development projects in Bangladesh. He stressed on early implementation of the proposed Chinese Industrial and Economic Zone in Anowara Upazila of Chittagong with financial support from China. He added that Chinese investors are welcome in any part of the country including in the 100 Economic Zones that have been planned by the present government of Hon’ble Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. He reiterated the request to consider duty-free access of more Bangladeshi products to Chinese market.
Chinese Foreign Minister assured of continued support and assistance to Bangladesh in her endeavours towards accelerated economic development, rapid industrialization, and human resource development. He indicated that Bangladesh is now considered as one of the most prospective destination for Chinese investments and expressed keenness to conclude a MoU with Bangladesh on production capacity cooperation. The Chinese Foreign Minister informed that the proposed Industrial and Economic Zone in Bangladesh enjoys high priority at Chinese side. He also expressed keenness to further consolidate cooperation in areas such as agriculture, energy, connectivity, and Blue Economy.
The two sides agreed to take requisite measures for the further expansion of our cooperation under both bilateral and multilateral arrangements such as BCIM EC and South-South Cooperation framework. They also agreed to strengthen cooperation on various regional and global issues of common concern.