Important, genuine friend

BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia yesterday urged visiting Chinese President Xi Jinping to continue their support for Bangladesh's development activities and stand by its side.

The BNP chief made the call during a meeting with the Chinese president at the Le Méridien Hotel in the capital in the evening.

During the 40-minute meeting that started at 5:30pm, Khaleda and Xi Jinping discussed various bilateral issues, BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir told reporters after the meeting.

He said China also expects Bangladesh's support in its development activities and the role it is playing in the geopolitical field.

Khaleda at the meeting mentioned that former president Ziaur Rahman had established Bangladesh's diplomatic ties with China.

“Later, an overwhelming relation developed between the two countries that still continues,” Fakhrul quoted Khaleda as saying.

The BNP chairperson also described China as an important and genuine friend of Bangladesh.

Meeting sources said Khaleda, at one point of the meeting, told Xi that her party continued “its fight to restore democracy” in Bangladesh in the face of “oppression from the government”.

Without giving a direct reply, the Chinese president said they want to see a peaceful Bangladesh and a peaceful world. He focused mostly on China's “One belt, One road” initiative, which he said would play a vital role in the development of this region, the sources added.

BNP standing committee members Khandaker Mosharraf Hossain, Mahbubur Rahman and Nazrul Islam Khan, chairperson's advisers Reaz Rahman and Sabihuddin Ahmed were present at the meeting.

MEETING WITH SPEAKER

During a meeting with Jatiya Sangsad Speaker Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury, Xi stressed that the parliamentary bodies of China and Bangladesh should enhance exchanges and dialogues, reports Xinhua.

Noting that cooperation between the two countries' parliamentary bodies is a significant component of China-Bangladesh ties, Xi said China appreciates the great importance the Bangladeshi National Assembly attaches to developing bilateral ties.

He urged the two countries' parliamentary bodies to strengthen communication, increase public support for improving political mutual trust and aligning development strategies and provide a sound legal guarantee for the two countries' political, economic and trade cooperation as well as people-to-people exchanges.

Speaker Shirin Sharmin hailed Xi's state visit as a milestone in the development of bilateral relations, saying that she believes it will bring bilateral ties to a new height.