Chinese ambassador to Bangladesh Yao Wen paid a courtesy call on President Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir at Bangabhaban.

During their meeting on Sunday afternoon, Chinese President Xi Jinping, through Ambassador Yao Wen, invited the Bangladeshi president to visit China at a mutually convenient time.

During the meeting, the ambassador briefed the president on various developments following the recent visit of Bangladesh’s prime minister to China. As part of the visit, progress was made on laying the foundation stone of the China Economic and Industrial Zone, signing an agreement on the modernisation of Mongla Port, and providing assistance for establishing the Mongla Export Processing Zone. The president expressed hope that the prime minister’s visit to China would further strengthen the friendly relations between the two countries.

The Chinese ambassador said around 30 Chinese companies would invest approximately $500 million in the China Economic and Industrial Zone. The investment is expected to create employment opportunities for around 100,000 local people.

The two sides also discussed various issues of mutual interest, including the Teesta River Comprehensive Management Project, expediting the launch of a strategic dialogue at the foreign ministerial level, and initiatives to introduce diplomatic and defence dialogues at the state ministerial level.

They also discussed strengthening bilateral cooperation in exporting jackfruit, mangoes and guavas from Bangladesh to China, solar energy, electric vehicle assembly plants, the China-Bangladesh-Myanmar Economic Corridor and addressing the Rohingya crisis.

The Chinese ambassador recalled President Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir’s visit to China in April, when he was serving as the LGRD minister. He expressed his appreciation for the visit, particularly recalling the president’s meeting with the minister for international affairs and the handover of a rare photograph and video showing the presentation of credentials to former President Ziaur Rahman in August 1980.

At the conclusion of the meeting, both sides expressed their commitment to taking the existing friendly relations between Bangladesh and China to a new level through stronger and more multifaceted cooperation.